"When an hour of minimum wage won't buy you 2 gallons of gas, but it takes 4 gallons to get to work,

[cali]

that's a problem. $7.50 isn't enough- Maine State Senator Troy Jackson, logger

This is the guy that governor pigface, paul lepage said this about yesterday:

"Sen. Jackson claims to be for the people, but he's the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline," LePage said, according to WMTW. "He is bad. He has no brains, and he has a black heart."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/paul-lepage-vaseline_n_3473822.html




http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/bio35s.htm

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Buzz Clik]

2. A four gallon commute? I hope that's round trip.

Even still, that's one helluva of drive, and not real sustainable.

[cali]

4. the guy is from Aroostook County Maine

Aroostook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 71,870. Known locally in Maine simply as "The County," it is the largest American county by land area east of the Mississippi River (St. Louis County, Minnesota is larger by total area). Its seat is Houlton.[2] As Maine's northernmost county, its northernmost village, Estcourt Station, is therefore also the northernmost community in New England and in the contiguous U.S. east of the Great Lakes. Aroostook County is known for its potato crops, as well as its Acadian culture. In the northernmost region of the county, which borders Madawaska County, New Brunswick, many of the residents are bilingual (English and French). The county is also an emerging hub for wind power.

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 6,828.79 square miles (17,686.5 km2), of which 6,671.54 square miles (17,279.2 km2) (or 97.70%) is land and 157.25 square miles (407.3 km2) (or 2.30%) is water.[3] Aroostook County is about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_County,_Maine

So yeah, a lot of the people he represents have to drive that far to get to work.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Sound like they suffer the commuters' equivalent of high housing costs in big cities.

[Jenoch]

9. St. Louis County Minnesota

is located east of the Mississippi. We have property in a northern Minnesota county west of St. Louis County and the Mississippi is 6 miles southwest of our property.

[Rod Walker]

6. And I thought my commute was rough...

70 miles round trip, which translates to just under two gallons (I usually drive a hybrid).

Then again, when the weather's rough I drive my Jeep instead, and wind up using 3 1/2 gallons.

[Puzzledtraveller]

3. $7.50 is disgusting

But the problem has got so bad and wages so stagnant for far too long that $10, $12, and even $15 are not enough. We used to talk about earning enough just to make ends meet, well, mine don't meet anymore, and that is with having a slim budget, no spending on non essentials, no cell phone, no cable. I'm a state employee, social service worker 4+ years and my breakdown is about $13.65/hr. It would be impossible if you had a family.

[rhett o rick]

7. There's always the bus. Oh, that's right they cut the routes. nm

[cali]

8. in Aroostook County?

this is it. even if it's not cut.

http://www.aroostooktransportation.org/