Stupid: A Four-Day Work Week To Save Energy?
by Matt at Jul 30th, 2008
File this under “Stupid ideas”….
With the price of gasoline at $4.196 on average in Western New York, several town highway departments have switched to a four-day, ten-hour schedule to control costs, while business and government nationwide have begun to consider the alternative schedule as a way to beat pain at the pump.
The Elma and Wales highway departments are already operating on longer day schedules, saving set up time and driving one day a week. The town of Aurora will begin a similar program next month. Statewide several towns are looking at the alternative as a way to cut gasoline costs.
The sad thing is that some people actually think the idea can work:
Removing one day from the workweek may not result in large personal savings for families, but could trigger a drop in demand that might drive prices down, according to Peter Beutel, an oil industry analyst with Cameron Hanover Inc.
“A four day work week could actually put the price of gasoline beneath three and possibly even below two dollars given time,” Beutel tells WBEN
I’m sorry, but it won’t. In fact, it may encourage greater consumption of gasoline by lengthening the weekend, and putting more cars on the road.
