- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/44153801
Denmark’s energy minister called on citizens to reduce their energy use amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Oil prices jumped to over $100 a barrel on Thursday, raising fears of rising inflation.
“If it is not strictly necessary to drive the car, then don’t do it,” the minister stressed to Danish citizens.
meantime here in Tasmanian, endless fucking RVs and caravans being towed around aimlessly belching diesel exhaust for me to suck on as they go past me on my bicycle. I hope diesel gets to $10 a litre here
Seems to me that the answer here should be a substantial tax on petrol.
Which basically, exclusively punishes the lower class?
No, it hurts the status-seeking middle class, last I checked, lower class doesn’t really have a lot of cars.
Dunno about Denmark, but in my experience the higher class get to live wherever they want closer to their jobs, and probably own multiple cars they optionally drive short distances to show off.
Whereas the working everday folks gotta drive their 2008 Honda-of-Theseus MANY more miles in commute from outside the city, daily, hoping that expensive rattly motor mount can hold until pay week before it fails.
So taxing the heck out of fuel would hurt the working class a ton more.
Denmark has very good public transportation and bike networks.
Confused. Is Denmark footing the bill for their citizens’ oil? Seems like you would just say “hey, oil is expensive now - if you drive for no reason you’re a dumbass, but I won’t stop you.”
Maybe Denmark cares about preventing actual shortages, or about the damage wasteful driving with high gas prices does to the economy as a whole.
Are you by chance American and a free market fundamentalist or a rugged individualist?
A country asking its citizens publicly to pull together in adressing national risks is a very normal healthy thing to do. It offers obvious direct benefits. That you are confused by this, I find disturbing.
Edit: consider the possibility that your cultural programming may be incorrect in at least some important ways.
Oil costs are going to affect transportation costs all over the board, food, clothes, construction materials… so trying to reduce consumers consumption of oil can help to reduce that impact on the rest of economy. I don’t think is going to actually work, but politicians needs to start planting the seed of scapegoats for the future.
Ah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Then when prices increase or rationing starts, they can point back and say “guys, we told you to use less gas!”





