I've Got Gas

Gas prices. Everyone is whining about them. In my last week of work during the summer I talked with a guy who was convinced that gas prices were going to single handedly bring down the entire US economy. He said that Americans spend "several billion" dollars a year on gas alone. That didn't seem too bad to me since the entire economy was several trillion (The GDP in 2004 was estimated to be about $11.75 trillion). "Several billion" seemed rather insignificant to me. Indeed, it seems that we Americans spend $183 billion a year just trying to figure out the tax code.

Heck, $2.55 isn't all that bad when you think about it. In other countries prices can be much higher. Prices in Europe have gone over $6 a gallon in some places. They have been worse here too, in 1981 gas prices hit $1.48 a gallon. What's that you say? That's cheaper? Think again. The US dollar in 2005 is much weaker than it was in 1981 so we have to adjust for inflation. $1.48 in 1981 dollars translates to $3.11 in 2005 dollars. Somehow $2.55 doesn't seem too bad after all.

I guess though not everyone is concerned over gas prices. If they were they would change their driving habits and dump that SUV. But I still see a heck of a lot of speeders out on the roads and a number of SUVs. Perhaps the whiners ought to switch to alcohol fuels. Surely they have enough wine by now.