Is Gas Really That Expensive?

If they air one more news story about how devastating the price of gas is, I think I might puke. Enough is enough already! Here's a few things to consider next time you start bellyaching about $4.00 gasoline:

Historical Prices
When I think back to when I was first driving in the 80s, gas was $1.00 to $1.50 per gallon. That was almost 30 years ago. So, its 3 to 4 times as expensive now and as a statistic that sounds horrible. But how much was a house in 1980? $50,000 -- now its $175,000 to $200,000. A loaf of bread as $.48 and now is $2.50 -- a stamp was $.15 and now its $.44. So gas is no more expensive now relative to other stuff than it was 30 years ago. And vehicles are more fuel efficient now, so your real cost of travel is actually lower.

What's The Real Damage?
Gas is about $1.00 more per gallon than it was a year ago. So how much is that going to hurt you? If you drive a vehicle that gets 20 mpg and you travel 300 miles per week -- that's 15 gallons of gas. About a tank in most cars. It will set you back $15.00 per week more than last year.

Oh my! $15.00. I better start canceling my summer vacation! Really? $15.00. If it hurts that bad, I can think of lots of ways to make up $15.00. Carpool one day. A few less lattes at Starbucks. Get rid of your home phone (who the hell uses a home phone anymore anyway?) Cancel cable and get Netflix. Save 15% on car insurance. Take a few less trips in the car.

But is the sky falling? No. It is $15.00 a week. Work an hour of overtime or skip McDonalds for dinner once this week.

Perspective Please?
My example assumed you drove a car that only got 20 mpg. You car might get 25 or 30. You might drive a little more or less than 300 miles per week (that's 40+ miles per day, everyday by the way). So it might only be costing you $5-10 per week. And unless you drive a race car and travel 100 miles per day, its not hurting you more than $20-$40. You can make that up somewhere else if you try.

Over 27,000 people died in Japan and millions are homeless. Lots of people are still out of work. The government is full of idiots There are plenty of things to be upset about, but $4.00 gas is not one of them. It is not a conspiracy or a plot by evil oil companies. Simple supply and demand and inflation folks. That is all.