Regular here about 2.50...costs about $37 to fill the Jeep from 1/4 tank to full. Premium and diesel are both around 2.80.

 

you're the exceptionh:

 

what made the gas prices go up all of a sudden? it was about 2.89 for reg. about two weeks ago now its about 3.05.

 

someone sneezed in the gulf coasth:

 

financial darwinism. nature's way of punishing the SUV drivers.

 

people complaining about gas prices are weak..................

Are gas prices really that "out of whack"? Every time I turn on the TV or open my internet explorer I am bombarded by these news stories and statistics showing how expensive gas is, how its increases in price are disproportionate to the economy, etc. etc. etc.

Even my friends and people I work with complain about how gas prices "have doubled" or how "expensive" gas is.

Just how much of that is truth? Are these news stories and peoples opinions in general, just the result of sticker shock? Sure, I admit I cringe when I pull up to the pump and see 87 going for $2.60/gallon. I remember when gas was $0.90/gallon. I would like to see those numbers again as well, but that will never happen.

Prompted by all this, I started poking around and after doing some rather basic number crunching. I found out that Gas is expensive, in fact the price has doubled in the last eight year. These price increases, however, are not disproportionate to the CPI

That's right, since 1998*, the CPI, accoring to the BLS, has increased 106.9 points. And according to AAA, the average price of regular as nationally has increased from $1.15 to $2.64.

Now, after correcting these numbers using the CPI, the real, nominal, adjusted price per gallon was up only 83%.

Now if I remember my Econ. classes correctly, that means that the price of gas has actually risen slower then the CPI.

So, while I don't like it, I fail to see what everyone is complaining about. Is it just the fact that the price hit has occurred recently and not gradually over time?

Maybe we should just get over it and stop expecting free market economies to accommodate us?

Discuss.





*The msot recent data available was for Feb. of 2006.

yeah i don't like paying a lot for gas either but its really not that bad

 

yeah........soccer moms, pussies, and all fast drag race cars................

looking at your sig, your car isn't fast, which is why you have the stigma it needs to be 5speed to be fast

 

josh, i see your point and i agree with you. i have a short commute and my car gets around around 21 mpg, the way i drive. the prices really don't bother me. i do, however, think it's kind of cool that the people who are hurt the most are the ones that drive these big monstrosities for no reason. the new odysseys get 28 fwy, and the new pilot gets 22-24 fwy. only folks who drive expeditions and lifted 4x4s are really hurting.

 

$3.07 SoCal Chatsworth Area

 

Oh I hate paying high gas prices as much as the next guy............but when looking at it in a rational matter, it really isn't a problem and is where it should be.