The summer driving season has certainly been painful on the pocketbook, hasn’t it? Gas prices had held steady for several months, and we thought things were good…but the last few weeks have really blown that up.
So what’s causing the pain at the pump?
Here are Five Fast Facts on why gas prices are so high again:
- 📈 Not Your Average Highs - The average price for gas across the country is approaching $4 per gallon again, up 30 cents from just a month ago and 80 cents from the beginning of the year. The biggest increases are being seen in the Midwest. But no big deal, there’s lots of public transportation in the Midwest…oh wait…
- 🥇 Winners And Losers - The highest prices are on the West Coast in California and Washington state, with averages around $5 per gallon. The cheapest is in Mississippi, at around $3.32.
- ☀️ Heating Up - One of the main drivers is the high summer heat we’re seeing in many places. Oil refineries have to cut back their production (or maybe even shut down) when it gets too hot.
- 🛢️ Oil Prices - Global crude oil prices are another factor, with prices around $80 per barrel (up from $70 a month ago). And don’t forget, a huge chunk of that goes to the government in the form of taxes, so maybe that’s something we could reduce, too, right?
- 😨 Supply And Demand - The second largest oil producer in the world, Saudi Arabia, has been cutting exports in order to keep prices high, and are planning to keep that up until the end of September. They have some local things they want to pay for, so congratulations to everyone else for funding them!
🔥Bottom line: It wasn’t that long ago that the US was a net exporter of energy, and one of (if not THE) biggest oil exporters in the world. There’s no reason we need to suffer high prices because a nation on the other side of the planet wants some new toys. It also doesn’t help that we have almost no strategic reserves here at home, either. It’s bad enough that we have to pay high prices for these government decisions, but let’s just hope there isn’t another catastrophe that would make things even worse until we can fix things. Our Paychecks can only take so much.
What do you think should be done about gas prices?
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