I just started reading Sustainability by design, which opens with a discussion of how we tend to solve the wrong problems by using short-term technological fixes that treat the symptoms rather than treating the cause. Just about every U.S. policy decision made related to gas prices fits this model. So, my idea for a better solution and how Obama (and other sensible takers) could message it.
How could this be messaged? "Gas prices are increasing. Same old story. This has been a campaign issue for the last 40 years. Don't you want to move on? I want gas prices not to be an issue in the next presidential campaign not because they're high or low, but because a 25-cent increase in the price of gas doesn't upend our lifestyles. I want Americans to live lives that are less beholden to the price of gas. I don't want to take away your car. But I want to give you the choice--the freedom--to leave it at home if you want. I want you to be able to walk to the grocery store, for your children to bike to school, for your spouse to take the bus to work. Because being able to choose how to get to where you're going represents real freedom. Freedom from high gas prices, from an unstable oil market. The freedom to live how you want."
- The perceived problem: Gas prices are too high
- The quick fixes: Drill more; release the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; increase fuel efficiency
- The real problem: Our lives are too dependent on gas prices
- The long-term solution: Get oil out of the economy, by increasing alternate modes of transportation; stressing "accessibility" (ability to get to our destination) over "mobility" (ability to move over great distances); living in more compact developments
How could this be messaged? "Gas prices are increasing. Same old story. This has been a campaign issue for the last 40 years. Don't you want to move on? I want gas prices not to be an issue in the next presidential campaign not because they're high or low, but because a 25-cent increase in the price of gas doesn't upend our lifestyles. I want Americans to live lives that are less beholden to the price of gas. I don't want to take away your car. But I want to give you the choice--the freedom--to leave it at home if you want. I want you to be able to walk to the grocery store, for your children to bike to school, for your spouse to take the bus to work. Because being able to choose how to get to where you're going represents real freedom. Freedom from high gas prices, from an unstable oil market. The freedom to live how you want."
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