Can We Afford Rising Gas Prices?

Now that COVID has finally calmed down, we’re still left with many people in need of jobs and money. Therefore, the fact that gas prices are rising so much in such a short amount of time is outrageous. It’s understandable that we’re going through hard times, but I believe there are many things that could be done to lower the prices. Nevertheless, recently, prices have lowered 14 cents at many of the local gas stations, which is a good sign!

In order to combat the global warming situation, President Biden cut greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels in 2030. This means Biden wiped out cheap gas in order to support clean air. Global warming is a problem, but it has just added more taxing toward paying for gas. Another reason gas is so expensive at the moment is that Russia brings in around 8% of oil and although it’s not much, it’s enough to tax higher!

Virginia prices are actually considered low to other states such as California, Hawaii, and Alaska all have an average gas price of $4.72 and above. According to www.whsv.com, in 2021, on 5/12/2021 the average price of gas in Virginia was $2.87, which doesn’t even compare to the $4.23 average we have right now.

As prices rise, people start to wonder, “how will this affect public transportation?” Public transportation goes up as gas prices do, so people who use buses and trains have most likely seen a change in their bank accounts. Uber has just announced a fuel surcharge to help drivers not spend all of their earnings on gas.

Gas prices seem to be going down, which is good! Hopefully, we can finally get back into the normal range with 2-3 dollars worth of gas. We’re slowly getting there and by the end of the month, gas should be 4 dollars or below!