AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson has been pretty well blasted recently for his comments that a higher gasoline tax would be "good for us." He went on to provide some fluffy support about dependency on OPEC imports, national security, and a review of CAFÉ fuel economy standards, but I think his real underlying message may not have been in "fiscal" terms at all.
He may have let the cat out of the bag.
Could higher energy prices be good for you physically? Such is an interesting question when one considers some of the associated factors. Certainly, if you walk more than normal because you can't afford to fill up your car with fuel, you are likely to be in better shape. On the flip side though, if you can't afford to pay your heating bills in the winter and you expire from exposure, I think that might qualify as "unhealthy."
In any case, from day one children in most of the developed world are taught, more and bigger are better. The idea of accumulation and excess have always been linked, but a look at today's society shows that they may be terminally intertwined.
This same idea has been perpetuated by commercialism and our economy driven lifestyles. Consider the trend of most products and services you come into contact with on a daily basis. Homes have grown in size by 30-40% since 1990. In 2004, SUVs were the hottest (and largest) automotive sector. Interestingly, the dimensions of our actual species (in the US) have mirrored this trend.
Could it be that there is a direct relationship between fuel prices and the collective size of our average waistlines? It makes sense. If you don't have a larger car or truck, you simply can't fit as much physical stuff (like people and hamburgers) in there.
I had studied the Big Mac index as a worldwide financial indicator, but this potential relationship could be even more fascinating. So I set out to further examine the correlation and just like the magic, the number "60" came up more times than the infamous number "Phi" in the Da Vinci code.
Roughly 60 describes each of these indicators:
- Percentage of overweight people in the US.
- Current US trade deficit (in billions).
- Average EPA rating (MPG) achieved by the highest rated car in the North American fleet (Honda's Insight).
- Total number of obese people in the US (in millions).
- Percentage the Honda and Toyota Hybrids are more fuel-efficient than other models in "their class."
- Average percentage increase in overall total calorie intake between 1977 and 1996.
- Percentage use of all petroleum products in the US by transportation.
- Age of McDonald's CEO Jim Catalupo when he died from a heart attack in April 2004.
- Projected percentage rise in imports of crude oil and finished petroleum products to the US between 1999 and 2020.
- Number of McDonald's restaurants in the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, and Russia (each).
- Percentage increase in size of the average home from 1971 to 2004.
- Percentage of light truck sales (including SUVs and Minivans) as a part of total car sales in 2004.
- Number of fat grams in a typical McDonald's value meal.
- Percentage increase in the average price of gasoline since September 2001.
- Rough number of McDonald's customers per day worldwide (in millions).
The evidence is overwhelming that there may in fact, be something to it. Historical review of late 2004 and 2005 will reveal dramatic increases in average energy prices. Maybe not so coincidentally this period will also mark the introduction of healthy menu items by all of the major fast food chains. Very interesting.
I have never been one to put much stock into conspiracy theory, until I read an article on McDonald's VP Chris Woicik claiming that the restaurant chain is currently selling millions of pounds of apples a year. How many millions? You guessed it, about 60.
By applying the basic transitive property of deduction, one can surmise that the introduction of the Mickey D's version of a Waldorf salad may have played more than just a passing role not only in our recent energy spike, but also excessive oil company profits. Hmm.
If the Big Mac can be an indicator of worldwide foreign exchange, and the McDonald's salad can influence crude oil futures, there is no telling how deep this thing runs. To borrow a line from Jack Ryan, "I'm afraid if I dig any deeper, no-one's going to like what I find."
And here I thought Freedom Fry Farmers were on the up and up.
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