Black Wednesday, as some people have come to call the day that fuel prices skyrocketed right up into our collective ass, has been a series of long sighs for me.

I hate sighing because it is a sign of defeat but defeated is what I felt the whole day.

I listen to the television news and reel from the many positive comments about higher fuel prices. I wondered aloud if I had gone crazy and failed to see the positive side of having to pay 40 per cent more for a tank of gas?

A friend called me to say that he is so exasperated he does not know what to say or think anymore. Speechlessness was a major feature of my interaction with people today.

Most of my friends start their conversation with a short burst of anger then shake their heads in disbelief, shuffled nervously and finally lowered their gaze to their feet and just went quiet from disbelief at what had happened.

As far as I can tell from my circle of friends, acquaintances and colleagues, the country is stunned into incoherence. There are just too many anger jostling for words and most people find their brain grinding to a halt while their hearts simmer with frustration.

Many wonder if the Government actually did think through this decision or did they arrive at it on a whim and a prayer? I think the country would like to see the numbers that our decision makers looked at before they concluded that the best thing for the country and its people is a huge fuel hike.

Have they worked out the frictional value of the fuel hike on consumer spending?

I mean if someone have to pay RM500 extra a month just to move around he/she certainly not going to go out as much. Can anyone tell me how much it will slow consumer spending? Some body had better know this number before they make this very important economic decision.

I wonder what the reaction will be when we get over our initial shock over this price increase.