# High gas prices, love them or hate them? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636 "2019-03-27T22:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/1 "2019-03-27T22:19:43Z")
Simple question, do you love high gasoline prices or hate them? You might ask what the point of this question is, but the results will surprise you. As for me, that “Pain at the pump” stereotypical news report is how I feel about gas prices. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/2 "2019-03-27T22:27:29Z")
don’t bother me, makes the roads less crowded ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/3 "2019-03-27T22:40:42Z")
Define “high”. There are certainly price levels that I would hate to pay, to the degree of refusing to purchase the gas. I haven’t seen such prices in the real world. Fuel demand is inelastic and I’ve yet to be pushed out of the “I can swallow this” zone. Heck, I’ve yet to leave the “this change in price has no effect whatsoever on my driving/gas usage habits” zone. So I don’t hate the current gas prices. But I certainly don’t love them - inelastic doesn’t mean backwards. I’d be happy to pay less…in the unlikely event the decrease would be large enough for me to notice that it had occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/4 "2019-03-27T22:43:49Z")
Everywhere I go is far away. So, of course I want/need cheap gas. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/5 "2019-03-27T22:50:09Z")
Is this some kind of trick question? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/6 "2019-03-27T22:50:49Z")
Probably good for the local economy where I live (central Texas.) I don’t drive much either, so I don’t mind. But I do worry about its impact on jet fuel. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/7 "2019-03-27T22:56:33Z")
Petrol (gas) prices fluctuate not only week to week but sometimes day to day here in Australia: You never know what the price is going to be on the day you go to fill up. And I’m not talking just a couple of cents variability, it can go up (or down) by over 10c per litre on occasion. Not an issue for me as I don’t do a lot of driving during the week, but for those needing cars and cheap fuel to commute, it can add up to a lot of $$ very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/8 "2019-03-27T23:01:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Everywhere I go is far away. So, of course I want/need cheap gas. Likewise. No public transport for me, no biking either, way too far. When I walk, it’s walk the dogs. But I am at a place where it doesn’t hurt that much. Higher gas prices does tend to push tech towards better vehicles, so there is that. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/9 "2019-03-27T23:21:20Z")
Ha ha! I drive a Prius with an 8 gallon gas tank! (I’ve been waiting since I bought this car 3 years ago to lord it over people.) But really, yeah, high gas prices suck. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/10 "2019-03-27T23:30:37Z")
High gas prices is a hit to the lower working class and sucks major balls. ---
**Author:** ![Smudge777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@Smudge777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smudge777)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/11 "2019-03-27T23:38:32Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Petrol (gas) prices fluctuate not only week to week but sometimes day to day here in Australia: You never know what the price is going to be on the day you go to fill up. And I’m not talking just a couple of cents variability, it can go up (or down) by over 10c per litre on occasion. Mate, I’ve seen it jump from 1.16 to 1.52 (38c per litre) in 12 hours. * * * That said, I recently did some research into the common perception that petrol prices are increasing. And it’s not true (at least not in Australia), when you account for inflation. It simply represents the average consumer’s inability to understand how the value of money changes over time. So I don’t really care one way or the other for high ‘gas prices’. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/12 "2019-03-27T23:39:54Z")
Selfishly, I dislike high gas prices. however on a society wide level they’re a good thing. They also are a form of regressive tax as was said earlier. When gas is $4/gallon, it doesn’t hurt the upper middle class. But for the working poor, that is a huge deal. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/13 "2019-03-28T00:05:25Z")
I would like everything I buy to be cheaper. Who wouldn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/14 "2019-03-28T00:06:56Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Everywhere I go is far away. So, of course I want/need cheap gas. This. Most of my trips are too far to walk, too close to fly and public transportation is not an option. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/15 "2019-03-28T00:59:12Z")
I don’t really mind. I don’t see how we can get people to reduce oil consumption as long as it’s the cheapest option. (I’m aware that high fuel prices also mean that tractors cost more to operate, trains and delivery trucks cost more to move, stores cost more to heat, etc., so that eventually everything costs more.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/16 "2019-03-28T01:05:29Z")
I hate high gas prices because it makes people cut back on consumption of gas and other oil based products meaning it will take longer before we run out of the stuff and the alternatives won’t be practical until we do. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/17 "2019-03-28T01:21:14Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Ha ha! I drive a Prius with an 8 gallon gas tank! (I’ve been waiting since I bought this car 3 years ago to lord it over people.) > > But really, yeah, high gas prices suck. Smug alert! Yeah, I watched that episode today. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/18 "2019-03-28T01:53:50Z")
Interestingly, to me anyway, my state has uncharacteristically been below the national average the past few weeks instead of at or above as is more typical. Yeah I can remember when 90 cents/gal was high, but honestly it hasn’t impacted my standard/way of living in a meaningful way as of yet, so nah, I ain’t bothered by gas prices. But I don’t love them either. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/19 "2019-03-28T02:21:15Z")
It doesn’t really matter now as we clearly not going to do anything to combat climate change, we might as well let people drive around for the next few years so that their children will have a few pleasant memories before it all crashes down. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/20 "2019-03-28T02:30:26Z")
Long ago I decided to never remember taxes or gas prices. Little that I can do about either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636.md?page=2)