Start of driving season fires up gasoline prices gripingi48.tinypic.com
Start of driving season fires up gasoline prices griping
Made popular 386 days ago in Business
washingtontimes.com — NEW YORK — It’s Memorial Day weekend and our national obsession with the price of gasoline is in focus once again.

We’ll spend a little less at the pump than a few weeks ago, but that won’t stop us from muttering to ourselves, griping to friends and pointing fingers in many directions.

Our rants about gasoline and the oil industry may not always be based on facts, but one thing is undeniable: Americans are obsessed with the price of gasoline, more than any other good or service we buy.

In the language of economists, the price of gasoline is “salient.” That means it sticks in our brains. Here’s why:

We’re reminded of the price every time we pass a gas station and see those huge, numbered signs. We buy gas every week, unlike bills we pay monthly or a couple of times a year. Milk is $4 a gallon, but we buy only one. When we fill up with gas, we spend $50 or more.

And the biggest frustration, which comes into focus as the numbers spin ever higher at the pump: There is no alternative.

“The oil companies have cornered the market and they are squeezing us for everything we have,” says Bob Simpson, 62, of Lodi, N.J., who pays close to $60 to fill up his Ford Escape.

Cheap gas makes the wide open spaces of America seem full of possibility and adventure. When it’s expensive, we think twice before setting out.

“Driving is a symbol of freedom in the U.S.,” says Shanjun Li, an economist who studies consumer behavior at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics.

At a nationwide average Friday of $3.67 per gallon, gasoline is far cheaper in the U.S. than much of the rest of the world, thanks to relatively low taxes. In Japan, gas costs more than $7 a gallon; in Britain, it’s nearly $9.

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Posted by lastbaldeagle
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Remember when the democRAT politicians and their elite liberal media cronies were outraged when the price of gas hit $1.89 during the Bush administration? Where are they now?
In hiding, it doesn't help with their agenda.
0%
Gotta protect Barry.
0%
It's not an issue now, only when Republicans are in the White House.
0%
Shhh! Move along, no story here.
2%
All these choices.
94%
OMG, anyone but Obama in 2012. It couldn't be any worse.
3.9%
This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.
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lightdude
Posted 386 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
Their head is in the sand as well as their butts.
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