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Gas Prices

In: Social Issues

Submitted By joshpenn
Words 1225
Pages 5
Joshua Penn
Dr. Stacy Thorne
Engl 1301
4/23/2012
Is Obama Really To Blame? Like millions of Americans, I own a car. In order for a car to work though, it depends on gasoline. Gasoline is a commodity that has seen violent swings in prices for the last decade. The current price of gas at my local Quik Trip is $3.63. This price has been as low as $2.99 and has been as high as $3.99 in the last four months alone. Many of my fellow G.O.P. brothers and sisters will have you to believe that President Obama is solely to blame for these price hikes. This is the furthest from the truth. There are many reasons that our prices at the pump are increasing, many of which the President has little power to change. As was previously stated, gas is a commodity. As such it is affected by market trends. Gas prices are also affected by external issues on which the President has little say. The first thing that you learn when you take an economics course is the theory of supply and demand. Think of a child’s seesaw. The recession depressed oil demand, which depressed gas prices. As the global recovery takes hold, more people are working and driving. This is being felt not only by American’s, but by the entire world. Until supplies catch up to the demand we will be looking at even higher prices at the pump. According to Benoit Faucon, “The bottom line for demand: Global consumption of oil and liquid fuels should increase by about 1.3 million barrels a day in the third quarter from the first quarter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But supply will fall by about 310,000 barrels a day in the third quarter from the first.” (Faucon par 14). Global politics play a part in the price we pay for our gasoline. The largest parts of the world’s leading oil producers could be defined as being in turmoil and chaos. Because of the climates of the

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