gas prices

["Lois Melina" <lmelina@moscow.com>]

Somebody check my math, but if I get 20 mpg and drive 30,000 miles/year, I
buy 1500 gallons of gas/year. If gas prices are $0.10/gallon higher in
Moscow, it costs me an extra $150/year to drive a car here. That isn't
chicken feed, but it pales in comparison to other differences. For example,
I'm guessing we pay that much more PER MONTH for housing in Moscow than in
Troy or Lewiston or possibly even Boise and Spokane. I recall that when I
questioned how Boise could build an indoor 8-lane 50-meter pool with a
4-lane 25-yard pool AND a leisure pool, with water slide, just two years
ago, for $5 million (excluding land), while Moscow is unable to get less
pool than that WITHOUT a roof for $3.2 million, I was told that
construction costs are significantly higher in Moscow. Is that because it
actually costs more to construct here or is that because the costs are just
higher? Last summer I spotted some inline skating kneepads/elbowpads/etc.
in NYC for $25 which cost something like $35 at our "discount" sporting
goods store. 

So, it costs more to live in Moscow. And as far as I know, our salaries are
not any higher than in other places. 

Perhaps this explains why it is so hard to get a levy passed for school
improvements or community projects.


*****************************
Lois Melina
Editor, "Adopted Child" newsletter
P.O. Box 9362
Moscow ID 83843 USA
1-208-882-1794
orders: 1-888-882-1794
fax: 1-208-883-8035
Email: Lmelina@moscow.com
http://www.raisingadoptedchildren.com