Oil Prices and The American Economy: Analysis of Correlation

Gas prices are steadily on the rise and will continue to do so if there is nothing done to prevent gas from continuously rising. There are many reasons why gas prices are constantly so high whether it is that so many individuals profiting off the major influx of gas prices. In the meantime there are many steps that can be taken to help save gas money by getting the most gas mileage from our cars. America will always rely on gas because all of the auto motives that are used run on gasoline and oil. A couple solutions have been proposed that will with a doubt help lower the prices of gas throughout the US. If nothing is dramatically change, gas prices will still continue to rise and the American people will suffer financially. This is why there should be a national decrease on the price of gas which would greatly help out the American gas budget and further relieve us from this recession.

To begin with, many different individuals profit off the misfortune and financial stress from high gas prices. Some people may ask “what causes high gas prices” well here are a few explanations (Fuel 1). The government shockingly makes significant gains by placing taxes on gas, oil refineries, and oil suppliers which seriously raise gas prices. It’s obvious that “as high gas prices have drawn media and public attention, the issue of gasoline taxes has stirred debate” (Gasoline 1). To be exact the government raises gas prices nearly 20 cents on average but sometimes as high as 50 cents. As well as the government the oil refineries need to compensate for these taxes by raising their prices and take a slice of the profit. The oil refineries are the middle men and they are the ones that produce gasoline and determine what they want to sell it for to the gas companies. Gas companies ultimately decide the final price of gas because they are the ones that sell it to the general public. Through all of these processes that it takes to actually make oil into gas, it is a costly development.

Another point that comes into play would be that there would be many benefits from cheaper gas prices. The Americans would be able to invest their money in different ways which would help stimulate the economy and help get out of the recession. Through stimulating the economy it would get Americans back on their feet and finally help get America out of debt. One such benefit would be that Americans could spend their money on other daily or automotive expenses. There used to be a time where “the national average hit $1.68 per gallon” which was considered high (Fuel 1). Today gas prices are doubled that and those prices would be something dreamed upon by current gasoline users. Gas has dramatically increased within these past years and is continuing to rise. Gas prices don’t need to necessarily decrease to fewer than 2 dollars, as nice as that would be but they should at least not be as high as almost 4 dollars.

Unquestionably the US is very reliant on gas and oil because automobiles are what run our society whether it is driving to work or many other destinations. To be successful in today’s society you need to own a car or some sort of transportation device which is most likely powered by gasoline and oil. Furthermore we will always depend on some sort of fuel which is now gasoline and it’s hard to afford it with gas being so high. Since we are so reliant on gas, “fuel prices have often been a cause for concern” (Update 1). Americans have always been interested in cars and love the freedom of being able to drive anywhere and have the luxury of cheaper gas prices until recently. Since gas is so high, Americans have had to compensate by creating more fuel efficient cars to help get the most of the money they spend on gas.

Also, there will unmistakably be many people opposing this proposition and that’s anyone whose money will be reduced from cheaper gas prices. It’s hurting more Americans by setting them back financially because they are spending a majority of their money on gas. It’d be better to not have these individuals profit as much as they are and to lower gas prices. By enforcing a law to lower gas prices it might stir up some trouble with these companies making a great deal of money but it’d overall help the general public. The general public is greatly more important that just upsetting a couple CEO’s and major profiteers.

In the meantime, there are many alternatives and steps we can take to help save money on gas and receive better gas mileage. One simple step would to carpool with friends which would greatly help out because more people in one car are better than everyone driving their own cars. There are always ways to drive more efficiently whether it is driving sensibly, observing the speed limit, don’t excessively idle, use cruise control and don’t use overdrive gears. Also making sure their car is in good shape by keeping the engine tuned, use clean air filters and maintaining properly inflated tires. Also gas mileage can be improved by using the recommended grade of oil which could improve gas mileage by 1%-2%. The final option would to buy a fuel efficient car. That would greatly save you money and on average save you about 1000 dollars a year. Saving that much money is a very considerable amount on which you could be spending on other things. One of the greatest decisions you could make right now is “selecting which vehicle to buy (which) is the most important fuel economy decision you’ll make” (Dealing 1). There are plenty more options that could help with the American gas budget but hopefully these can help in the meantime.

In conclusion, if the gas prices were to be lowered it would dramatically help out many automotive drivers when filling up their gas tank without empting their wallets. One such way the gas could be lowered is to standardize the price of gas. Standardizing the price of gas would be if the government would enforce a law that makes all gas companies to sell gas at the same price throughout the US. Another proposal would be to lower taxes for oil refineries and oil suppliers. This would result in a lower gas prices because that way there wouldn’t be a need to raise gas prices so high that they would need to make a significant profit. The final proposal would be to drill in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. This proposal would be very controversial yet extremely effective because then America wouldn’t need to rely so heavily on foreign oil and there is a vast amount of oil located there. Any one of these proposals would dramatically decrease the price of gas and greatly help out the American people.