I payed $4.45 a gallon today for 91 octane gas. Nearly a 20c jump in the space of a week. We are getting into high inflation territory that places like Zimbabwe suffer from where you have to fill up all your cars at once because it will be higher tomorrow. Not cool. That is a facet of an economy losing control.

The price will come down to an extent, speculators can only survive for so long before any bubble pops, however this inflation is driven by both fundamentals, such as China and India consuming more oil, as well as the US government printing money like there is no tomorrow. When bad policy mixes with known bad circumstances the result is a mess.

While the percent of the budget that gas takes is relatively small, it is not true for everyone. Via ucb the NY Times has a heat map for US counties and percent spent on gas bills against income.

The rural areas in the US cannot command large salaries or wages. The jobs are generally not highly skilled and the cost of living is low. Transportation is often a necessity and large vehicles has been the norm for a while now; certainly the last twenty years. The impact of gas inflation is heterogeneous and consequently may take on political dimensions.
More reading: Tags, Energy, Gas, Inflation
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.