Obamamonics is working. /s
Hell Obama caused the price of rubber to increase by over 30 % by the threat of Cap N Trade alone. I learned this speaking to the owner of a well known tire store chain awhile back...
Tthat was my very first thought. It's not Rev. Wright's "rich, white peeeeeople" who are seeing their hours cut back to 25/week to avoid Obamacare premiums. It's disproportionately falling on the young and minorities who were Obama voters. (Two 25-hour employees hired instead of one 40-hour employee is a big reason that the official unemployment rate is as low as it is. Even at minimum wage, that 15 hours would represent one new tire every week. But they'd have free birth control -- that is, if they had full time jobs with health insurance!)
I also agree with the auto recycler/junkyard approach to tires on a budget. It's not like a Dodge Caravan uses an uncommon tire size, and it costs the auto recycler money to dispose of the used tires.
Some stretching in the original article -- I replaced the tires on the Corolla company car with Michelins at Costco and it cost me about $500 on sale. I doubt you could buy a new set of tires with mounting balancing and taxes for a minivan for less than $400.