We are feeling the incredible pinch of rising cost.
For the last 40 years, wages for the working class in America have not only stagnated, but began a steady decline. With the dollar being adjusted for inflation, many find themselves working for less "real" dollars now than they were 4 years ago or more. While this was happening, the real earnings of the top 5 percent of the population have increased by as much as 50 percent or more. Meanwhile, Gas prices escalate and with them go everything that depends on oil and gas. Transportation of food and clothing, power to produce the goods we wear, use or eat, transportation to and from work, utilities, ie... water, electricity, natural gas. For decades the auto and energy industries spent millions lobbying congress not to legislate regulations to produce more energy efficient cars, renewable energy sources, cleaner burning fuels, mass-transit systems that worked. They cried that such regulations would be too expensive to produce and that congress should give them more time to gradualy ease into these goals. Congress allowed them 10 years. After 10 years, they lobbied for more time and got another 10 years and so on and so on. Well, now here we are with gas guzzeling cars that get worse gas milage than cars did in the 1920's. (Some cars in the 1920's were able to get 40 miles to a gallon of gas. english standard measurements) The energy industry bought up all the patents to solar, hydro/electric, wind, thermal energy technologies and then shelved them or made them so expensive that the average person couldn't afford to take advantage of these options.
We are now so dependent on oil that we find ourselves vulernable to a changing world. Every great nation comes crumbling down at some time and our time may be soon enough but that is not the issue here.
We the average people of this planet find ourselves suffering because of the decissions of a few who control the majority of the wealth and power in this world.
Maybe someday we can stand up to these giants and say "I'm angry and I'm not going to take it anymore". But then, some new group would just come along to fill in the void left by the last group of rich and powerful and we's probably all fall right back into our little places like marbles in a pachinco machine.
Yes, we are better off than some. In Mexico City, people live in homes made of cardboard and sheet metal. they have no running water, no electricity, no natural gas to cook with, no washing machine to clean their clothes with. So yes, we are better off than many. We count our blessings for these things many of us have come to take for granted. Now we are finding ourselves wondering what we can do without in order to help our shrinking dollar stretch further. We may begin looking to our brothers and sisters in poorer lands to teach us how to live on bare essentials because we have forgotten over the generations.

I'm jobless and so worried, Randy...

The same thing is happening here with the rising gas prices. Other prices will follow. I hope you make it through the crisis and I hope your government starts taking care of the people other than themselves.