Gas prices....

[Richard Gosdin]

2.18 here in Columbus, GA

 

[TrainTrac]

Did anyone catch John Stossel's "Myths, Lies, and Nasty Behavior" special on 20/20 last Friday? He did a piece on gas prices, disproving the myth that they're higher now than ever before.

No. 7 — MYTH — Gas Prices Are Higher Than Ever



"Record high gas prices," has been the refrain of many in the media this past year while talking about the price at the pump. Jay Leno even said, "They don't even put the price on the sign anymore — it just says, 'If you have to ask, you can't afford it.'"



Drivers I talked to at a New York gas station agreed. "Too high, it's scary," said one man. "It's going up and up and up and it's the most expensive it's ever been," said another woman.



But the reality is that the "record high gas prices" are a myth. The U.S. Department of Energy records show that when you adjust for inflation the price of gas is now lower than it's been for most of the twentieth century. Prices are lower now than they were 25 years ago. Yes, they price is up from the 1998 all time low of $1.19, but they are a dollar lower than they were in the early 1980s.



When I told this to people at the gas station they didn't believe me. And why should they? The media keep telling us about the record high prices — they're just not adjusting for inflation!



I asked people to compare the price of gas to bottled water or ice cream you can buy inside the gas station. Most people were sure the gas was more expensive. But they're wrong.



If you took the average price of a bottle of water, a gallon would cost nearly $7. A gallon of Haagen Dazs ice cream would set you back nearly $30 — 15 times the price of gas.



And think about how much harder it is to produce gasoline.



First, oil has to be sucked out of the ground … sometimes from deep beneath an ocean or underneath ice or from the Middle East where workers risk their lives. And just to get to the oil often means the drill may have to bend and dig sideways through as many five miles of earth. What oil companies find then has to be delivered through long pipelines or shipped in monstrously expensive ships, then converted into three different formulas of gasoline, trucked in trucks that cost more than $100,000 and then your local gas station has to spend a fortune on safety devices to make sure you don't blow yourself up.



Gas is actually a bargain, not that you'll hear that from most of the media.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Raserx, Looks like you've got about the lowest price. We're paying $2.33 - $2.35 out here in Sacramento, Ca.

 

[LoriMaury Kimbrough]

$2.34 here in Kingman, AZ

 

[Fred]

$2.25 in Weaverville, NC.

 

[Roy Smith]

$2.05 in sumter s.c.(at fatboys station)

 

[Eric Mixon]

I've been paying $1.69 for E85 since early December in Lombard, IL. When I filled up today it jumped to $1.99! How do you jump 30 cents in one week on E85!? :angry:

 

[Scott Atwater]

supply and demand. the law of economics caused it to jump.

 

[Tom Schindler]

How do you jump 30 cents in one week on E85!?

because they can...thats why.





Tom

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

Dang! I'm still looking at around $2.10. Usually I am lower than St Louis is.... that frosts me! It can't be the delivery charge since Murphy Oil Refinery (one of the suppliers for Citgo, inturn for Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Kroeger) is less than 80 miles from my house!

 

[Andrew Tollison 3]

I saw it for $1.89 on my way to work this morning.

 

[tony brizag]

it went down 7 cents, now at $2.00