Believe It Or Not, Gas Is Still Cheaper Now Than It Was In 1980

[stopbush]

adjusted for inflation.

A 1980 dollar adjusted for inflation is now roughly $2.50 (actually, 98¢ in 1980 dollars = $2.50 in 2005 dollars). (On edit: I picked 1980 because that was the magic year when gas first topped $1 a gallon).

Once gas goes over that magic number (it's $2.51 a gallon today in Las Vegas) then we're ahead of inflation. But in adjusted numbers, we're right where we've been for 25 years.

Of course, this doesn't take into account the impact of wage stagnation and public perceptions. I remember back in the summer of 2000 when a gallon of regular was going for 89¢ in NJ. That's not so long ago.

Here:

http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Gasoline_Inflation.asp

Here's a neat inflation calculator:

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

[Lone Pawn]

1. You have gas for under $2.50?

$2.59 here in north Chicago.

[stopbush]

3. I see others on the board today mentioning prices in the $2.30 range.

Our gas prices in Vegas are always above the national median. I bought regular for 2.49 yesterday, 2.51 today (different stations)

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. but it's still more expensive than it was in 1997

98 cents per gallon in 1997. A tank of gas for under $15. Maybe it's nostalgia, but I miss it.

And for the record, gas is above $2.50 in my neck of the woods.

[stopbush]

5. Right you are. In fact, using that 89¢ 2000 gallon as a basis,

the same gallon adjusted for 2005 inflation should be 99¢.

The question is: were gas prices artificially low in 2000 or are they artificially high now? Or neither? But looked at as a *simple* inflation adjustment, there's been no change.

I think we are in a bit of an oil crunch/market flux now for 2 reasons:

1. bush's illegal war in Iraq has halted that nation's production, roughly 1-million barrels a day

2. China and others have a greater appetite for oil now than they did even 2 years ago.

It's a Perfect Storm!

[Placebo]

4. Yes that's true.

I posted this fact before the election.

That being said, it's still getting out of control, and most people aren't making much more money now than they did in 1980.

[SoCalDem]

6. I can remember 19.9 cent a gallon gas.. you young whippersnappers

I paid $2.53 yesterday for el cheapo at Mobil..:grr:

When I got my Accord, I coould fill it for $14- 15..it now costs me $34:(

[stopbush]

7. When I was in HS (68-72), gas was around 30¢ a gallon!

I remember being shoocked when it broke the 40¢ barrier.

And I remember visiting relatives in Michigan back in the early 60s. They were having "gas wars" up there: one station had it at 10¢ a gallon while the one on the other corner was at 9¢!

Now, who's the young whippersnapper?

[SoCalDem]

8. Why....you... you... I can remember when they PAID you to use the stuff

:P... not really, but :P

[flyingfysh]

17. and you could buy a Volkswagen for $2000

I remember their ad: "two pennies a mile! two pennies a mile!" touting low operating costs.

[TahitiNut]

18. And for 19.9/gallon, we got our windshield washed and oil checked.

I'd relax in my car while they checked my tire pressure, cleaned the windshield, checked the oil, pumped the gas, and then thanked me for the $3.00 fill-up.

[SoCalDem]

21. and they really hopped to it.. when you ran over the "ding-ding" thing

:)

[classof56]

25. Ah, the good old days!

When a buck's worth of gas would bring it up to empty! And then we could go "cruise the gut" on Saturday night. Sigh...! Memories! Gas is up to $2.53 here in my part of Oregon, but at least we don't have to pump our own. Or pay sales tax on the few paltry dollars we have left to spend after filling 'er up.

Grrr indeed!

[fasttense]

9. Yeah, I've heard that. But I had a better job in 1980 and made more

money than I do now. I think those calculations for adjusted inflation rates are not quite accurate. Though gas might have been that high, other items were not. Just taking the price of one item does not reflect the true economy of that time. By the way, someone posted a picture of gas prices of $3.50. I think it was in LA.

[onebox30]

10. It was alot back then

and it is alot today. It is only going to get worse until we get serious about conservation and alternative fuels.

[lastliberalintexas]

11. Not when you factor in wage stagnation

and the falling dollar. Sorry, Americans' buying power has fallen sharply since 1980, and your stat just doesn't hold up when you look at the entire economic picture.

[barbaraann]

12. Bingo.

But for those who ride in limosines, the price of gasoline might as well be zero it is so insignificant.

[w4rma]

15. Exactly. Wages have not inflated with inflation. (nt)

[Warpy]

24. Wage stagnation and the way that other things

have hyperinflated, like housing and health care. Those of us who were born too late to take advantage of the New Deal reforms have gotten thoroughly screwed six ways from Sunday by those things, plus Ronnie's setting high tax rates on the working class into stone.

[loritooker]

13. Whether correctly adjusted for inflation or not, our economy has been

running on cheap gas. Once that ends, there will be consequences.

[Karenina]

28. It's OVER.

NOW. No more "cheap" gas. Nor are you in any way, shape or form, entitled to it. 6% of the population whose military tanks are rolling over hapless folks who posed NO THREAT TO YOU at a cost of 4 GALLONS per mile... Pretty goofy circumstances we're all in eh, loritooker? :SIGH:

[ultraist]

14. It costs me fifty bucks to fill my tank! n/t

Our gas bill for our house was really high through the winter months too.

[Just Me]

16. So are wages. Apparently, "quality" of life,...is the rarest commodity,..

,...in these transitional days.

Nobody's "happy",...everybodys' struggling,...contentment is fleeting, like the wind.

:shrug:

[KharmaTrain]

19. It's Not The Cost, It's The Availability

From one who remembers the .35 cent a gallon days of the early 70s...and IRC, a gallon of lead-free regular was around $1.25 or so at it's peak in late '79/early '80. I don't think that's what caused people to be so outraged.

What was the biggest pain in those run-ups wasn't the price, it was the availability. We haven't seen gas lines or rationing. You can still fill 'er up. I wonder if the mood would change if shortages began to affect local delivery and people had to get in gas lines.

[Capn Sunshine]

20. well, there's an inflation table flaw in there

Inflation tables take THE PRICE OF OIL AND GASOLINE as a component of their rubric.

So you are using the increasing price of a commodity to gauge the inflation effects on that same commodity.

IOW, 2.50 2005 Gas is NOT equal to 1.00 1980 gas. It's skewed.
Other factors: the price of credit, and food.
Food is left off inflation indicators because it's "volatile"
but a 2005 chicken @4.50 is a LOT higher than the 1980 chicken @ 1.25. Same with beef.

[kentuck]

22. And what was the minimum wage in 1980 ??

Has it grown by 250% also? And what was the price of housing in 1980? Does the average working person have wages that have kept up with the cost of living. If not, then gas is not cheaper for those people.

[CatholicEdHead]

23. It was $2.90 in 1980 and $3.35 in 1981

http://www.adaction.org/mwbook.html

It has been stuck at $5.15 since 1997, 8 years ago.

[Just Me]

30. What a life,...at $5.15 per hour,...which cannot meet basic necessities.

After taxes, a full-time minimum wage earner cannot provide food/clothing/shelter without some kind of "social" arrangement: rooming with others, living with parents, etc.

Most of those min. wage jobs have min. benefits. One broken toe can tank the average service worker into sustenance distress.

It's hard to believe that,...this is "America".

[Hatalles]

26. It was $2.69 in East Bay Area just the other day... regular unleaded.

[RAF]

27. yea, and most people should be making 10 to 15 dollars more an hour

which is pure bs. Most people are lucky if their wages increased 5 to 7 dollars an hour and let's not even get into the cost of medical care, car insurance and every other life altering expense the average worker goes through.


This current republican movement is truly modern fascism!

[BeFree]

29. Believe it or not...

...we are getting ripped off! We were getting ripped off in 1980, today it's even worse because it ain't going back to a reasonable price.

Look, the oil we use today is the same oil we have always used.

Basically, oil is free. Getting to it, and getting it from there to here is what costs $. Gas should be no more than a dollar. The rest of the price we pay is just a rip off.

No amount of 'splaining is gonna get us used to getting ripped off, so just quit it! <g>