Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am about as moderate as a person can be. I equally dislike Republicans and Democrats. For my first post I feel like addressing a topic that is important to me - gas prices. While this has not been a major issue in the media recently, I feel it is an important topic and factor contributing to the economy because it affects one's disposable income. Another reason this is at the forefront of my mind is due to the fact that I recently sold my Scion Xa, and replaced it with a 1/2 ton GMC Sierra, which gets about half the gas mileage. While many liberals will chastise me because of my carbon footprint; I am ok with this because the Scion really was a useless vehicle outside of the gas mileage, which is another story.
Today's post is to highlight where the gas prices are now, and where they have been over the past ten years. I recall when George W. Bush was in office that there were many who felt the gas prices were high due to his affliations with oil companies. However, by looking at the graph, it appears we have not made any progress under President Obama either. I pulled the averages from the government's website, and have given you the yearly averages, since the cost fluctuates considerably throughout high travel times of the year.
2002: $1.16
2003: $1.40
2004: $1.65
2005: $2.22
2006: $2.50
2007: $2.68
2008: $3.75
2009: $2.51
2010: $2.93
2011: $3.71
2012: $3.73 through 10 months
While it is clear that the average cost of gas increased substantially under President Bush, it also appears that President Obama has not made any progress in reducing the average price. So, my question to each political party, if average gas price is almost identical to what it was on average four years ago, what is the determining factor?
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