The fuel crisis has spread all over the country as gas prices are at an all-time high with the national average at $3.39 per gallon, putting a tremendous strain on working adults and college students alike.
Gas prices have not reached this high in 7 years, and some are blaming President Biden for the spike. However, the supply and demand of oil has been the root of the problem for quite some time.
It is hard to mention the rising gas prices without referring to the impact that Covid-19 had on the economy. Gas prices saw an all-time low during the peak of the Covid-19 shutdown with averages being as low as $1.77 per gallon.
While the urge to return to normalcy since the shutdown has been immense, the oil and refining business has not had the time to keep up with the growing demand for gas in this country.
Adults returning to work, and students starting to return to the classrooms has created a massive influx of drivers on the road. Simply stated, having more people than anticipated on the roads has put a strain on what the oil industry can produce at this time.
Former student Josh Hornickle expresses his frustration with the surging gas prices, stating, “My car constantly eats up gas and I end up having to get it filled every week. I used to spend about $32 per week on gas but now I’m spending over $50.”
Rising prices are causing the working class and students alike to struggle to keep up with little to no hope of a resolution in the near future.
“Spending about $100 every two weeks just for gas is awful, and it’s what most of my paycheck goes towards.”
Pennsylvania has some of the highest gas prices in the country with the average gallon of gas costing $3.58. Although Pennsylvania has a large workforce, some must travel to neighboring states for work that include New Jersey, where the average cost of a gallon of gas is $3.44.
“I work in Trenton and have about a 30-minute commute to work every day which is becoming costly,” says Brad Koch, a Bucks County resident.
Koch states, “My Charger runs through gas, so I have to fill about twice a week. A fill up costs me $50 which only lasts me a week.”
This problem has been going on far longer than anyone could have expected which has sparked massive debates over the role President Joe Biden has.
Earlier this month, President Biden declared that he would release 50 million barrels of oil for America’s reserve in an attempt to combat the rising prices. With those 50 million oil barrels expected to hit local gas pumps in mid to late December, there is still a bit of time before we will see improvement.
Although we will see lower gas prices soon, there are still a few weeks before students will see a significant decline in spending at the pump.