The other day I came across a man who told me he works in the oilfield business, but hasn't been working much for his company for "obvious reasons." For some reason this really stuck with me. Although it was something he considered as an "obvious reason," I have never thought about those who really suffer from the decline of gasoline prices.
I am a college student who works two jobs, goes to school full-time, is in a sorority and most importantly, pays her own bills. Paying for my own gas has always been one of my biggest challenges. I always want to get "the most for my money." I remember at one point paying close to four dollars a gallon for gas. When gas fell under two dollars, I'm pretty sure I was the happiest girl in the world.
However, with the recent decline of gasoline prices, the state of Louisiana has been tremendously negatively affected. I never thought about cheap gasoline as a negative until recently. The decline of gasoline prices has affected the budgets of states who depend on the oil business. Many families have lost most, if not all, of their income. The budget cuts that Louisiana has had to make affect every resident. For every dollar that the price of a barrel of oil goes down, the state budget loses $12 million. These cuts that the state has had to make because of the budget impact higher education and health care. In the state of Louisiana, thousands are denied Medicaid because there isn't enough money to expand it,and thousands are laid off because there are huge gaps in the state budget.
There are many things that are out of our control. Something such as the price of oil is not something we, as citizens, can change. However, we are not helpless. One of the greatest things Louisianians can do during this difficult time is to shop local. I am a huge Walmart lover. I love the fact that I can get just about anything there and it's also within my college student budget. However, as much as I want to save money, I try hard to buy local when I can and to give back to the community in any way possible. If everyone spent as little as ten dollars a month at a local store/business, at the end of the year the local community will have received thousands of dollars from their residents. It's as easy as going to the local ice cream shop that's been in business for decades or drinking coffee from the coffee shop down the street instead of spending your money on (overpriced) Starbucks.
While the entire nation can't stop talking about declining gasoline prices, states like Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota and New Mexico are paying a big price. Their economies have been severely affected and will take a long time to repair. What they can do now is to bring money back to their community. Shop local now more than ever.
