At the height of the gasoline crisis in 2008, I wrote a letter to Senator Schumer on Jan. 17, 2008. In the letter I stated I wasn’t an economist, and didn’t have to be, to know that high gasoline prices would hurt the economy.
I outlined the approach we had to the gas shortage of the 70s, rationing, purchasing gas on odd/even days by license plate numbers (yes, there was a day for letters only), etc. As of this writing I have not received a reply saying it is a good or bad idea or any suggestion he had to remedy the problem but we are right back where we were in January 2008 with high gasoline prices. Whatever the reason, be it speculators in the stock market, oil companies or an oil embargo, is it possible that just the threat of rationing gasoline would bring the prices down? I don’t know but my guess is we will never know and I haven’t seen anyone in Congress offering any other idea?
Mr. Schumer’s failure to respond to my letter brings me to an article in Newsday (‘Post Office Seen As Tech Hub,’ Friday, Feb. 24, page A24). In that article Mr. Schumer is promoting the Hicksville Post Office site for some “high-tech incubator.”
At this time I don’t know if this is a good proposition or not because there are no details but one thing I do know is that Mr. Schumer has never had the decency to answer my letter from 2008 and if he didn’t have the time for a Hicksville resident then I don’t think he is qualified to tell us what is best for Hicksville. He is just another person who knows nothing about Hicksville or its residents, telling us what we need.
I would write to him and ask how many times he was actually in Hicksville but I don’t think I’ll get a reply; you probably have to be someone of influence to get his attention.
Greg Yatzyshyn
