Stop Complaining, Gas Is Cheap

"If you read the headlines it seems that that spiking fuel prices are spooking consumers. Is this response rational? Not really, if you examine the facts. Firstly, even with the 20 percent increase in gas prices, gasoline remains remarkably good value. Think of it this way. Currently, if you travel the typical 15,000 miles annually and your vehicle averages 20 mpg, you are spending $1,312 per year based on regular gas priced at $1.75. A few months ago gas priced at $1.40 per gallon meant your annual fuel cost was $1,050. The difference is $262, enough for a couple of family meals, or a single plane ticket somewhere in the U.S., if you're lucky. In other words, it's not that big a deal. And bear in mind that compared to our friends in Europe we still have little reason to whine. How would you like to be paying four or five times today's U.S. price at the pump as they do in Italy or the UK? If U.S .gas prices stayed above $3 a gallon - across the country, not just in California - for six months or more, then I can imagine a widespread reaction from consumers, but otherwise not."

Thanks to Richard Layman