Atlanta nee Terminus is a corporate park, not a city. In its’ initial state, it was an intersection point for railroad routes. Atlanta is not a city. Southern types do exist, but at the current rate of change, the 13-county cluster of metropolitan Atlanta does not present them. For “southern culture,” try Athens, or Savannah, or Columbus, or Moultrie.
I can’t think of any outstanding Georgia governors, since, say, JEC. The last recent Georgia Senator worth any national attention of the good kind was Sam Nunn.
The rural/urban split for Georgia is not at all unusual. The alternatives that present for state leadership dwelling within the core of Atlanta, including the list of hopelessly corrupt and stupid mayors, as well as the insipid list of f’tarded commissioners of Dekalb and Fulton counties do not prestent “competition” in any sense of the word.
In Georgia, the non-Atlanta people dominate the state politics. This is not the case in every state. In New York, for example, the NYC people dominate the state. Just ask anyone in NY who is not from NYC.
The “Gas Days” idea is insipid. Perdue needs to vett these things before he blindly reacts.
The gas price savings is a significant one if you’re taking the precaution of holding back use of the gas-guzzling buses statewide in anticipation of possible gas hikes because of the aftermath of Rita. It’s happened before.
In the aftermath of Katrina, there was a huge gas hike in Atlanta between the first Monday after Katrina; pices jumped from $ 2.79 to an average $3.59 on average. Rumors of a broken gasoline pipeline creating an area shortage that Wednesday shot prices as high as $5.87 at one station (now being fined for price-gouging, if there’s any justice in this world). There was gas rationing and lines for blocks. As a former Atlanta resident, I’m sure monstro can attest to the “panic now, think later” mentality that drives a whoooole lot of Atlanta residents that does everything from inhibit growth of the MARTA system because white suburban communters north and far northeast of here are convinced big, bad, black burglars are going to break in their homes while they’re at work, to the panic that empties out grocery stores shelves in the hint of an approaching snowstorm. I do not put it past Atlanta residents to panic again if gas lines actually are disrupted and lead to another hike $1-3 hike in gas prices overnight. When thousands of buses statewide have to refuel this is exorbitant.
I’m no big fan of Sonny, but occassionally the man makes things happen that make a lot of fiscal sense, like his restructuring of the DMV, and this is another cost-cutting measure I grudgingly support, although encouraging more neighborhood carpooling and use of hybrid gasoline public transportation would be best.
cerebus. The actual city of Atlanta is pretty small, but the metropolitan area does indeed represent a large city, though one increasingly international in outlook and culture and not merely regional.
Any savings in cost from this only goes to the state, though. Parents do not see any savings, not when they have to pay daycare centers & babysitters, take days off from work, and drive kids to gramma’s. Employers will suffer from lost productivity as parents call in sick or come in late. And the roads may be choked with even more traffic than usual as parents drive around kids and teenagers head out to the mall. I’d love to see a deep analysis of the “savings” resulting from this. I have a feeling Joe Taxpayer isn’t going to reap any of it.
I think it’s hilarious that Georgia is worried about gas. They routinely have the cheapest prices at the pump–the CHEAPEST. If Georgians had to pay what the rest of us do even without the state taxes, then they’d shit bricks and want to close school every day. So I have no pity for the whiners and the panic mongers. They have had it easy for too long and now they are spoiled brats, playing the world’s smallest violins.
Everyone else seems to be holding it together in the face of the potential gas crisis, but Georgia is punking out.
If Sonny were a strong leader, he could have gotten on TV and tried to do something to halt panic buying. Go on the news and explain to people that panic buying only makes things worse. That’s what a strong leader does. He doesn’t perpetuate panic buying by telling people how bad it will be and then closing school because he’s so scared.
Atlanta is not unique in being panicky. When I lived in Jersey and the forecasters would predict blizzards, the lines in stores would be ridiculous. No milk, no bread. Here in Miami, an approaching category 1 hurricane is enough to drain all the gasoline and bottled water in an area. But life goes on. We close schools down when the hurricane is on top of us, but we don’t close school because we’re too broke to pay for the gas. Gas is always going to be expensive–we should just face this reality. Too many people are waiting for the “good ole days” to come back, those days when the octane rating matched the price per gallon. Aint. Gonna. Happen.