Gas prices need to stay low and remain constant over the course of a year. Whenever gas prices rise so does everything else from groceries to goods. As prices rises families are left with smaller budgets for everything else they require for everyday living. The local economy can be altered by an increase in gas price as well resulting in a slower economy flow. Gas should remain at an average reasonable price based on the local community and average wage.

Whenever gas prices rise I notice it the most in common grocery stores. Milk can fluctuate from a dollar to almost 3 times that price. Why are groceries affected by something like gas? Well stores stock goods from all around the country. In order to do that though they have to be transported on big rig trucks. Some one has to pay for the gas used to move a product from say California all the way out here to Arizona for example. The store owners have to find a way to cover the cost of that expense. The usual solution they come to is a rise in prices across the board on products they sell. These price changes are not a flat fixed increase across the board neither. They change on a near daily basis. Certain products from this state may rise in price more so than the products being imported from another state. Now common grocery stores are essential to everyday families. They rely on them for food and a small selection of miscellaneous goods like toilet paper. As the prices here at the storefront rise the pockets of families will begin to shrink. Being raised in a large family of 6 I know the affects small things like this can have. Some families have it better or worse as everyone’s income varies from household to household. My household personally was supported by just my mother. Her income alone was expected and flexed to keep me and my 5 siblings afloat. Now she drives a rather large SUV and we all know SUV’s and trucks are not the best gas consumers on the market. They hold enormous 20 gallon plus tanks and can be quite costly to fill up. In our familial situation though we require a large vehicle being that there were 6 of us total. Imagine the gas budget on an SUV back when gas prices were $3.50 average. Doing the math on that gas figure with an average let’s say 20 gallon tank would put you at roughly $70 for every fill up you needed. That tank doesn’t last long when it’s your primary form of transportation to work, stores, and the schools of your kids. If you’re a single parent like my mother is and you only have one income to rely on for everything that’s a heavy hit to your monthly income that you don't really have any control over. Your weekly fill ups can cost roughly $210 on average, assuming you fill up 3 times a week, and now you have to budget for groceries. Your wallet will feel an immense squeeze as those gas prices rise since you’re going to be hit on two fronts. Now let’s say gas rises continuously for a month. You’re going to have to pay more and more for gas and then groceries which do not come cheap with a large household. This is just a brief look at how something like this affected my family but this applies to all of them.

The economy has been proven to run better when people are freely able to go about spending their money on goods and services. Just as in my case though their budgets may be on a downturn due to gas fluctuation. It’s a really odd situation if you stop to think about it. Store X needs to raise prices so they can foot the bill for transporting those goods to their store. The negative consequence to that needed decision is now that store may experience a fall in sales because all of a sudden their consumers no longer have an extra $200-$300 for goods every month. In this scenario the store had no choice but to raise the front end market price to help alleviate the unavoidable gas price change, however, they also assisted in slowing the economy down themselves. Consumers drive the economy and there is no valid argument against that. The gas company is the real “bad” guy here whether they know it or not. In my work experience I worked for a Circle K for about 6 months and during my time there I learned something rather interesting about gas sales. Not a single gas station attempts to profit off of gas sales anymore. They merely change the prices to ensure they can purchase the next shipment they need. This sounds familiar doesn’t it? It’s an identical dilemma stores face with their products. This is why the blame solely lies on the gas production company. In their defense though there are numerous factors that can change the price for a barrel of oil. War, overall economy, and sales all take effect on this statistic. We the people who live here in the real world of everyday life and hardships know on gut instinct alone that a lot of what they tell us is ridiculous.

I have no hard concrete facts to give you because this is something we all know almost as if it were common knowledge. From the very moment we step foot into a store with an income of our own we fall victim to this bizarre circumstance. Most of us would believe that the prices are the results of fat cats in suits wanting to maximize a profit. We’re more than likely right with that assumption. In the end we’re made to combat prices that are discretely interwoven with other goods. Families suffer on this modern battlefield while always fighting to find a way to survive. To find a way to make it work. In the eyes of the common populace gas prices need to stay low enough to keep life manageable not just in one season of the year but rather throughout the year in its entirety.