Rising Gas Prices Finally Cause Americans to Drive Less
by Jeff Davis
Ever see one of those big huge RVs driven by an elderly couple, with a bumper sticker proclaiming “We’re Spending Our Children’s Inheritance?” Well, if that sounds like your folks, you’d better track down those old coots and convince them to take a flight back home because the way gas prices are going, they really will spend your whole inheritance this summer.
A recent news article reports “Record high gas prices are prompting Americans to drive less for the first time in nearly three decades, squeezing family budgets and causing major shifts in driving habits, federal data and a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll show. As prices near — or in some places top — $4 a gallon, most Americans say they are cutting back on other household spending, seriously considering buying more fuel-efficient cars and consolidating their daily errands to save fuel. Americans worry that steep gas costs are here to stay: eight in 10 say they doubt today’s high prices are temporary…”
An Associated Press article reports “Oil futures blasted to a new record over $122 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices… oil prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years… Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $122.47 a barrel …Oil prices have nearly doubled from about $62 a barrel a year ago, which Goldman sees as a sign that the world is in the midst of a ’super spike’ in oil prices.” (more…)













