Mike Causey

Paying Euro Prices With U.S. Dollars

Paying European prices for gasoline wouldn\'t be so bad if we could pay them in Euros, but as Senior Correspondent Mike Causey points out, we are paying contine...

Federal News Network Staff

May 29, 2008 4:00 am

3 min read

Gas prices, as you well know, are going up daily. The media regularly reports new “spikes” in tones once reserved for an impending atomic attack.

The primary problem with the current price of gas is twofold:

When we roll up to the pump in California or Indiana, we are now, in some cases, paying what folks in Dublin and Munich have been paying for years. Maybe they have something with those small cars…
Unfortunately, we are paying European prices for gasoline in U.S. dollars. Not in euros. That’s because we get paid in dollars, not euros. Imagine if you were a GS 13 making $96,000 euros a year. Then you could afford that SUV, your van, your cabin in the mountains, etc…

The only people who are not feeling the pinch about higher fuel prices are the movie stars and celebs who fly their huge private jets (hairdressers, nannies and pedicurists) around the nation, protesting higher fuel prices. Or who leave huge carbon footprints jetting from their homes in Europe, the Hamptons, Malibu, and Palm Beach.

For the little people (most of us) things are a little more complicated.

A growing number of feds, according to government reports, are working from home or on schedules that permit them to get a 4-day week now and then. But judging from the roads around DC (and things are equally tough in LA, Chicago, New York, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta), not enough people are being given the option and incentive to work from home. To say off the highways maybe even one workday every two weeks.

Americans, with our big cars and SUVs, are starting to pay European prices. The difference is that in Europe the Smart Car is everywhere. Here, at least in the DC area, the high-mileage 2-seater is still rare.

Even before 9/11 the government was concerned about being able to function in the event of a terrorist attack, hurricane, earthquake or any natural or man-made event that shut down parts of the country, or took out Washington.

Since then, agencies have made strides with teleworking. Last month the government ran a test here, swooping up key people and taking them to undisclosed spots.

But it’s almost certainly not enough. Not if the problem is bad enough.

So what to do? And in fact, can anything practical be done? Here’s what one reader says:

How about addressing the escalating gas prices and perhaps encouraging fed agencies to move towards alternate work schedules as a way to save gas? I think it would be a pretty “green” idea and maybe cut down on leave use too. I know there is the transportation incentive program, but even that won’t work for some us in remote areas where there are no van pools. Maybe some of our fellow feds have similar thoughts??? Deborah, Supporting the war fighter from NC

So the question is this. Will Uncle Sam, short of a catastrophic event, ever get his teleworking act together? And what is he supposed to do? What kind of realistic, workable plan would help you (us) save fuel, cut down on traffic and pollution, maintain if not boost productivity and insure that vital government functions continue whatever the problem?

Is there a realistic answer? You tell us. We’ll tell them.

Nearly Useless Factoid

From a list we found on the web called, 12 Odd & Unusual Chocolate Flavored Items comes word of chocolate sushi. Maybe it would make a thoughtful gift for a mother-to-be? Now that I think about it, a nice gift certificate would be better.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com