Darren Glaude, Seminole County Watch columnist

Gasoline prices are up and people are responding as you might expect:  irrationally.

Local media reports tell us of drivers who scour the county looking to save a penny or two per gallon.  The obsession to save a few cents makes even lesser sense, if you figure the actual savings per fill-up versus the time and effort involved.

One thing that does make sense, however, is the consideration being given to adding another penny to Seminole County's gasoline tax.  The added cent would be dedicated towards providing transportation for the disabled, as well as adding routes to the area's bus system.

The county estimates the extra penny would bring in about $1.7 million each year to go towards those two causes. 

It is something to which none of us in the county should object, other than those in the lower economic realms who truly do have to count each penny and really feel the pinch of rising gasoline costs.  That is why we should also consider some sort of rebate for persons under certain income levels.

The irony of rising gasoline prices is that the effect is rarely seen in the driving habits of the middle and upper income classes.  They may cut spending somewhere else, but they continue to drive.  What they are driving also does not help matters.

Several years ago, when gasoline prices were relatively low and palatable, the occasional story was about the continued strong sales of gas-guzzling vehicles.  Self-indulgent and short minded as we are, many of us quickly forgot the gas pains of the past.  We could not get back into our luxury and sports vehicles fast enough.

On top of that, Congress followed the lead of its majority Republican Party to reward SUV owners with tax breaks that actually encouraged the purchase and use of such vehicles.  "Conservation be damned" was the underlying message then, and now prices are rising in response to shortages in supply.

The people driving the luxury and sports vehicles are largely unaffected.  That is why the extra penny tax makes sense, at least in this regard.  Those who were so anxious to embrace tax cuts in reward of their profligacy should have no hesitation in adding an extra penny per gallon to provide transportation for those who are not as well off economically.

Sadly, as is often the case, those who are really affected by the rising costs are those who can least afford it.  In addition to persons in the lower economic levels who are already stretched each payday to literally their last penny, local gasoline retailers are also adversely affected by the rising costs.

The gasoline merchandising business directly reflectsthe consumption side.  Just as the consumers at the bottom rung are the ones most squeezed, so too are the local operators of the service stations who actually sell the gas to end-line consumers.

Profit margins per gallon for local operators are very slim and provide little relative income.  Instead, it is ancillary sales that accounts for most profit at local stations.  When those sales drop, so do their profits.  And those sales drop when the price per gallon rises.

Putting more into the tank means less available for snacks, sodas, and the like.  It also makes it more likely that the purchase will be charged, taking further income away from the merchant who must pay processing fees to the credit card companies.

Although the guy at the end feels the profit squueze of higher prices, everyone else on the production side is reaping significant profits.  Banks and credit-card companies, OPEC, and the big oil companies are all reaping benefits, while we take out our frustration on the guy operating the local pumps.

It is only the inequity of the price per gallon's impact that creates misgivings about adding the extra penny per gallon to gasoline costs in Seminole County.

Without hesitation, we should add it for those driving the luxury and sports vehicles, and those with higher incomes who do not really feel the effect.  Even with a 25-gallon tank, the impact would be only 25 cents per fill up.  It is difficult to contend you cannot afford that negligible extra cost each time you fill up your Hummer.

But what about the people who are not so fortunate, and do feel the impact?  What about the family of four that is barely, if at all, getting by, and has to carefully budget each payday to balance groceries, other expenses and gasoline costs?

Given that such people are also less able to afford using our toll roads, they must spend more time each day on our congested roads as they battle traffic in an effort to get to and from work.

Perhaps my heart bleeds a little too much, but I think about those people as I breeze through the E-PASS lanes each day.  We are all paying a price, to some extent or another, for the uncontrolled growth and mismanaged development that has been allowed to continue for years.  But we can all also afford to pay that price to varying degrees.

For those of us who can afford it, paying an extra penny per gallon is not too much to allow for transportation for the disabled and bus service for those otherwise lacking a means of transportation. 

Our county commissioners should be encouraged to add the extra penny to cover these costs.  It seems pretty obvious to me, and difficult to see how anyone could have a different view.

Email Darren at darrenglaude@seminolecountywatch.com