Pain at the pump.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Time for the media to talk about rapidly rising gasoline prices.


On average the price of gasoline is 31% more this Memorial Day than last Memorial Day. The only thing holding up Trump , if you can call an approval rating in the low forties being held up, is the economy.

ON EDIT-On another site a Deplorable said gas prices always go up in the Summer because people travel more

He was correct but he conveniently ignored gas prices are 31% higher this Summer than last Summer.

[Achilleaze]

1. Thanks a crapload, republicans

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Time for the MSM to talk about it.

It hurts poor and working class folks the most. The less you make the more of it you spend on day to day needs.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

8. High gas prices AND interest rates... going to bust the budget.

Thanks to that dickhead occupying the Oval Office.

[dalton99a]

2. "Grab Them by the Gas Prices"

[thinkingagain]

4. Geez and to think less then 2 years ago

We had lower gas prices
Lower interest rates
Lower health ins premiums


“Thanks Obama”

[bluestarone]

5. YEA Russia is

Back to making BIG money on there oil again! THANKS RUMP!!!!!!!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. On another site a Deplorable said gas prices always go up in the Summer because people travel more

He was correct but he conveniently ignored gas prices are 31% higher this Summer than last Summer.

[rzemanfl]

7. They're, their, there. n/t

[Stuart G]

9. Are you ready??? can you believe what I am about to write?

in the early 70s..I think it was 73....gas prices went way up..from say 39 cents up to 70 cents or some such nonsense ..yes it was some war, or military deal..maybe it eventually went up to a dollar a gallon, but went back down some....in today's world..according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (an arm or foot of the federal government..it calculates such things)...inflation was.............from 1970 to 2016.............................
....................................................................................................................................
...............................According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, the dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 4.04% per year. Prices in 2016 are 518.6% higher than prices in 1970. In other words, $100 in the year 1970 is equivalent in purchasing power to $618.57 in 2016, a difference of $518.57 over 46 years........................................................

................therefore...............................................

in todays money...gas went from $2.50..up to $6.00...or whatever...??..then it went down some, and then it went back up over five dollars. and stayed...for a while..and went down... there were long lines at the gas pumps for a number of days...but as the price stabilized, things calmed down..and then the prince went down again..Anyone else remember the 70s gas rise and fall???....it happens now and then again....???
..................................................as long as there is enough to run the car..and the cars of the U.S.A......
..................................................I can live with this nonsense ......up and down...no frown..not today, anyway..

[modrepub]

10. Hurts Us But Helps the Economic Numbers

Higher prices mean higher spending (it's an inelastic item; you can't cut back to compensate for the entire price increase). Higher "sales" also push gas stocks up which again makes it appear that the economy is "expanding". One of the primary reasons Obama's recovery was so anemic (on paper) was because of the depressed oil market. Lower "sales" due to lower oil prices, plus bankruptcies in the industry and depressed oil company profits (and thus stock prices) made the economic numbers look bad. It should be quite apparent that the oil industry is well plugged into all of the economic statistics that Republicans like to cite.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. But spending on other items where demand isn't inelastic goes down.

There's also an inflection point. We aren't as reliant on gasoline prices as we used to be but I assure you if there's a major war in the M.E. and the flow of oil is interrupted we would see a recession.

[modrepub]

15. In an all out war in the ME

I'd think the Sunni/Israel coalition would wipe out most of the Shia pretty quickly. Not to say that that would mean anything since the fighting would then take on an asymmetrical nature like Iraq did. Believe it or not we (the US) are not as reliant on the ME for oil as we were a couple of decades ago (fracking and tar sands could fill the gap if the price rises enough to make it profitable). On the whole we probably use less oil than we used to and we can all take steps to lessen the demand by picking hybrids or high mpg cars over SUVs or just plain driving less. I honestly think the reemergence of the cites is a response to rising travel costs. Owning an automobile is an expensive venture; I've spent a total of almost $50k on my most recent car (purchased in Feb 2014 for $26.5k).

Wars are always fought under pretexts of the previous conflict. In WWII, Germany's ultimate goal was to secure the grain fields of Ukraine (and smash the Communists/eliminate the Jews or Judobolshevism along the way). In WWI the Axis powers were eventually starved out of the conflict. Hitler never considered science as any real solution to Germany's food production shortfalls. In reality, scientific advancements in fertilizers and food production would make Germany's fixation on securing Ukraine's wheat fields moot. I think its the same thing going on in the middle east. We're fighting over oil resources that aren't necessarily needed as we begin to transition to natural gas/renewables and increased energy efficiency.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Would you agree a major M.E. war with possible Russian participation would roil the markets ?

Russia is not going to allow its ally in Syria and what would be irs ally, Iran, in this conflict to go down ?

[modrepub]

21. Yes But

A conventional was between the US backed Sunni/Israel coalition and Russia backed Shia (Syria/Lebanon/Iran) side would be over real quick. The last time the Russians directly attacked the US troops in Syria it was a huge cluster f***. Markets assumed the worse during Iraq War 1 & 2 but the "war" was over within a month (then the asymmetric crap started). No country can deal with the US military on an equal footing. Unless we are engaged in multiple theaters it's an unfair fight.

Again, we are fighting in an area (the Middle East) that has much less strategic importance to us than it did during the first Gulf War. The oil resources aren't as precious to us as they once were. Really it's an unneeded distraction. In the long run these conflicts will bankrupt us. Wars are usually far more expensive and last much longer than the politicians and generals tell us. It would be a mistake to get drawn into this conflict but the other side has much more to loose than we do.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. In NJ this time last year, regular was $1.99. Gov Christie thought it was a good time to raise

the gas tax as prices were so low. Price went to $2.25. We're now over $3.00.

[kedrys]

13. Unpopular opinion:

The rest of the world routinely pays $6+ a gallon for the stuff, including this Canadian. Americans would go apeshit if gas prices weren’t kept artificially low - and imho, that means you guys have no place to talk when you pay half-price compared to everybody else.

*exit sandbox*

[EffieBlack]

14. Gee, wonder how THAT happened?

Link to tweet

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. I just returned from a trip to California. The gas prices, yikes!

And the L.A. traffic, double-yikes! I expected it, and allowed extra time for it, but for those who drive in it every day, wow. I experienced "car pool lanes" and "lane-splitting motorcycles" for the first time. Interesting.

[msongs]

18. price was way higher during the obama years. like $1.50 higher nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. When ?

And:

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update.
U.S. regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.14 per gallon (gal) in 2016, 29 cents/gal (12%) less than in 2015 and the lowest annual average price since 2004. Lower crude oil prices in 2015 were the main cause of lower gasoline prices.Jan 6, 2017

And

Late Wednesday morning, the average prices stood at $2.357, according to GasBuddy. That is up 17.6 cents from last month's average and 36.6 cents higher than last year's average. GasBuddy forecasts a 2017 U.S. average price of $2.49 a gallon for gasoline.

[lame54]

20. it's the racism...

the economy is the cover