gas prices and American economy

In an email to my mother:

"Well as far as gas goes, I probably use 6 gallons a week, so roughly
$40 every 2 weeks, $80 every month. And I actually don't have too
much of a problem with it, besides that all that profit is going to
privateers. I think it should be that high because of tax. It would
encourage more people to be more resourceful. More importantly, it
will push people to put alternate energy sources on the market.
However, in the process, it's hurting the poor, lower class, and
working class people more than anyone. They struggle to get by and
this just hurts them. But if it was taxed instead of being taken all
as profit, they could have a tax break, or tax exempt even. Obama
promises to penalize oil companies but we'll see.

Either way, Americans are excessive. Europeans foam at the mouth when they here us ripe about gas prices. America really isn't as
prosperous as people think. If it weren't for Asia, we wouldn't have
grown I think. The biggest businesses are that big because they make
a profit off asians who work for nearly nothing. Not just asians but
other nations as well, including mexicans. You see right in America
how they use Mexicans. And the stupid Americans blame it on the
Mexicans and their government. Retards. We've had it so good that
we're just so ignorant. Just think about tshirts, they're a good
example of something that comes almost exclusively from asia. You
don't find too much clothing that comes from anywhere else. All that
crap, they pay those people pennies to make, so a tshirt for example,
they probably only had to pay them 0.01 of a cent to make it. The
fabric itself they buy in bulk and probably only costs a few cents per
shirt. Figure in machinery, upkeep of complexes, shipment, marketing,
they probably pay MAYBE $2 per shirt, and they sell it for what?
$15-30? Just look at Walmart, they sell shirts for like $3. How can
they do that? hmm.

Now think if China and other Asian countries cut off trade. Think if
we had to make those t-shirts ourselves. What would happen? Well, we
have minimum wage. Minimum wages are ridiculous now. Think about
what they would be if we couldn't get all our crap so cheap from other
countries. I think this country would be no worse than other 3rd
world nations. Minimum wage would dissolve. Our country claims to be
a democracy, but that doesn't mean it's for the people. This
country's freedoms were abused and became an opportunity for those who
would use those freedoms to cheat and swindle the low and poor. Our
government is all about making the rich richer and keeping the lowly
people ignorant enough that they don't think or question.

It's funny how the majority don't realize this for themselves. America is a civilization bred on ignorance. Granted, most people on Earth are pretty ignorant, but Americans are can be pretty disgusting with it."