Conservation, Conservation, Conservation! “Conservation” seems to be the new term being spouted out by politicians, the media, ecologists, economists and especially the paycheck to paycheck citizen. The dollar is down, costs are up and the average working wage is stagnating. Those who have to live on a middle or lower class wage have no choice but to conserve their spending to make ends meet. So therefore the mass majority (THE MIDLE CLASS) is consuming less. What happens to a consumer based capitalist economy when spending goes down? Well, theoretically when demand drops which will lower the cost of products right? Wrong, in order for the economy to sustain in positive growth the corporations need to keep their profits up. For example the last fiscal quarter the consumption of gasoline was down two percent. What is so remarkable is that EXXON Mobil has made the largest profit to record in the history of the U.S. in the same quarter that gasoline consumption has dropped. EXXON Mobil profited 11.68 billion dollars last quarter to be exact. This profit looks great on paper for some economists (lobbyists). Our bank accounts are running on empty from pumping petrol into our vehicles but this record profit shows that our country’s economy is still going strong! So what do we do? Take greater steps like by buying hybrids vehicles, motorcycles, carpool or take public transportation? Unfortunately, (all though good for the environment) it does not fix the problem. The price of gasoline will rise in proportion to the decline of consumption. Most of Europe is paying approximately ten dollars a gallon; they are also less reliant on petroleum. So get ready to walk to work because unlike Europe our public transit system is garbage and could not uphold the public need. We consumers have lost our power to the corporate dictatorships. Yes, we have lost. Let’s look at this situation analytically. This is a very simple model of how corporate America works. Oil and gas prices are at record heights. In turn this creates a new market to capitalize on; the auto industry has died to be reborn again to exploit this crisis. In fact GM is coming out with a new line of eco friendly fuel efficient vehicles with the financial aid of the federal government. Our tax dollars are going to a multi-billion dollar company to manufacture vehicles that we can’t afford. Since we can’t afford them outright the dying banks will once again be reborn to exploit the situation. The same conglomeration of banks that the feds are bailing out right now with our hard earned tax dollars. But don’t worry, the banks will loan you back your money with a healthy interest rate. So basically conserve by spending more money and carry interest bearing depts on your shoulders. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to say. I’m all for being efficient, in all forms of consuming. But I don’t feel that making the poor spend money they don’t have is conservation. These corporations have free rein with no regulations in the open market. Those who say “it’s easy just don’t buy it if you don’t need it” do not realize what is ahead of us. Everything that isn’t already privatized is going to be soon and price hikes are coming right along with it. The water counsel is working with a company right now called “Clean Tech” to open the market up for free enterprise. So if you don’t need water don’t buy it or consume less of it and pay more! The future is bleak. I hope this pisses everybody off