The New York Times points out that gas prices squeeze rural areas even more tightly than cities:
Here in the Mississippi Delta, some farm workers are borrowing money from their bosses so they can fill their tanks and get to work. Some are switching jobs for shorter commutes.
People are giving up meat so they can buy fuel. Gasoline theft is rising. And drivers are running out of gas more often, leaving their cars by the side of the road until they can scrape together gas money.
The disparity between rural America and the rest of the country is a matter of simple home economics. Nationwide, Americans are now spending about 4 percent of their take-home income on gasoline. By contrast, in some counties in the Mississippi Delta, that figure has surpassed 13 percent.
As a result, gasoline expenses are rivaling what families spend on food and housing.
The story cites a national survey that shows "that of the 13 counties where people spent 13 percent or more of their family income on gasoline, five were located in Mississippi, four were in Alabama, three were in Kentucky and one was in West Virginia." (
See the survey results here.)
There are several factors at play here. One is the distance people in the country have to travel to get to work, to the grocery or to school. Of course, wages are lower and mass transit is not a choice.
