The “Gasoline Misery Index” from the Metro Business Daily Network details the direct impact record-high gas prices have had on consumers across the United States.
Since President Joe Biden took office, prices of gas and other goods and services have continued to increase, as many peaked after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the project, residents throughout the country “will spend $667 more on gasoline this year than they did last year.”
However, some states have been hit harder than others. In Arizona, individuals will pay an average of $784 more for gas. Drivers in Georgia and Tennessee will see a similar increase. They will rake out $778 and $732 more, respectively.
Many experts have pointed to the regressive nature of the price increase, meaning individuals with lower incomes are impacted at a higher level than wealthier groups.
“Every dollar increase, holding the number of miles driven constant, would cost these moderate- and lower-income households an extra $530 per year. For a family with an annual income of $20,000, this is an additional 2.7% of their total income. Although higher gas prices eventually encourage consumers to cut back on driving or switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles, in the short-run they may have few options but to cut back on other expenditures in the family budget,” explained Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute.
As the national trend continues, state leaders have looked for ways to ease the burden. For example, many states have enacted a temporary suspension of their gas tax to lower the prices. Many other states are considering a similar move.
“Since the day he took office, President Biden and his administration have fueled inflation while hamstringing domestic energy production. They have flip-flopped, pointed fingers, and made excuse after excuse. But, in Georgia, we went to work. Together with the General Assembly, we budgeted conservatively at the beginning of COVID-19, protecting lives and livelihoods. We made the tough choices because they were the right ones,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp after signing a law to end the tax through May.
With gas prices up by at least 59% in a year, & D.C.'s pandemic politics further driving inflation, Georgia's families need & deserve all the relief we can give them. Today, I signed HB 304, temporarily halting the state’s gas tax.
More -> https://t.co/1Djn9XVfTi pic.twitter.com/iwxit8tzC5
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 18, 2022
— — —
Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
