Gasoline hike

I was one of those who lined up for gas before midnight in order to have a full tank. Today is the most dreaded day for motorists as the prices of petroleum products continue to skyrocket. There is an average increase of ?3 per liter which will damage everyone's budget, mine included.

Yet there isn't so much concern from the middle class or those who can afford even the highest fuel prices. They see it as a luxury to be able to go to places in their private vehicles, thus there is no clamor from them. A possible effect in this gas crisis is that those who used to own cars within their budget can no longer afford to. This would mean lesser vehicles on the road. However, the burden will be passed on to the public sector.

It would be practical to just commute from one place to another. But we know our public vehicles can’t accommodate a huge volume of passengers and they aren't that efficient. Compared to other countries, we lag behind when it comes to this. In Singapore we did not feel the need to use vehicle apps such as Grab or Uber. Going around the country was made easier by their effective transport system.

The government would have to interfere in this situation by addressing the people’s needs. If their treasury can afford it, maybe they can ease the plight by deploying buses serving as free transportation. The question now is how long will these schemes last? Or could it even wait until the war in Ukraine dies down?

Next, on top of the transportation issue, is the possible increase in prices of basic commodities. Because in business, whenever overhead costs including transportation for raw materials and the like increase, the additional payment is most likely passed on to the final price of the product. Another solution to that is to lessen production volume or the actual size of the product, which is also more costly than just increasing price.

When necessities become expensive, the working class suffers because there’s no increase in daily wage. I can only imagine how they will revolt against these next scenarios which directly affects us because of the war in Ukraine.

I guess this is the right time to reflect, if we do really need a leader who doesn’t take a stand on issues concerning our diplomacy. Right now we are caught in a crossfire and reeling from the effects. However, if our next leader is wise enough to choose the right association when it comes to international power, then we are in the right hands.