# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/21 "2019-03-28T10:51:18Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > 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. Yeah, if we decided to apply a serious gas tax either directly, or indirectly as part of a carbon tax or cap-and-trade regimen, the best way to do it would be to do it in conjunction with gradually raising the minimum wage to $15. That way the overall effect for working-class people would likely be neutral or positive. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/22 "2019-03-28T11:26:07Z")
I think that society should be reducing its CO2 footprint, and one way to do that is with carbon taxes. However this is not the same thing as “loving” high prices or revelling in making life more difficult for millions of people. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/23 "2019-03-28T12:00:22Z")
I live in the US so I have not experienced even modestly high gas prices in quite some time. Generally pay about $2 a gallon recently and quite a bit under that not too long ago. Paid under $1 a gallon a couple years ago. Note that $2 a gallon now corresponds to about 24 cents a gallon in 1963. So basically not enough of a change to really care about. As already asked: “Is this a trick question?” ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/24 "2019-03-28T13:00:46Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, if we decided to apply a serious gas tax either directly, or indirectly as part of a carbon tax or cap-and-trade regimen, the best way to do it would be to do it in conjunction with gradually raising the minimum wage to $15. That way the overall effect for working-class people would likely be neutral or positive. I’ll go one step further on the higher gas tax - use the revenue from the higher gas tax to fund useful public transport (I know, another kettle of fish) so there is an alternative to driving. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/25 "2019-03-28T14:03:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Selfishly, I dislike high gas prices. however on a society wide level they’re a good thing. It is quite normal and proper to simultaneously think something is bad public policy while enjoying it personally. (Much political confusion arises from failure to grasp this simple fact.) > [@ftg](#): > > I live in the US so I have not experienced even modestly high gas prices in quite some time. Generally pay about $2 a gallon recently and quite a bit under that not too long ago. Paid under $1 a gallon a couple years ago… At [this website](https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/gasoline_prices/) I see $2.91 per gallon as today’s average U.S. gasoline price. Is your lower price for gasohol instead of gasoline? That webpage notes: > [@](#): > > As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices. One notable exception is the U.S. which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices. The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline. All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. The U.S. has the cheapest gasoline among developed Western countries at 77¢ per liter; Australia and Canada follow at $1.04; I pay $1.11 in Thailand; Germany is $1.53. The price is $1.88 per liter in Norway, a petroleum producer! These low U.S. prices make us cynics think the very idea that post-rational U.S.A. might care about climate change is just idle posturing. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/26 "2019-03-28T14:21:50Z")
I didn’t vote because I don’t really care. I do think higher gas prices are probably a good thing overall if it gets folks to drive less. However, it is extremely regressive since it hits the lower income folks far more than people with higher income. Gas prices make no difference to my pocketbook. My wife and I have one car and it sits most of the time (we both commute to work via human powered transportation). The difference between $30 or $50 on our monthly gas fill-up makes no impact. I can’t wait for the day that an e-cars or some other alternative is the far cheaper choice. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/27 "2019-03-28T14:50:26Z")
I don’t like high prices because where I live you can’t walk or bicycle anywhere useful. I like them because it gets people talking about alternatives like mass transit, bike lanes and trails. I long for the day where buying a car is an option rather than requirement. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/28 "2019-03-28T14:51:26Z")
It is indeed a rare occasion that I decide to aimlessly drive around for the sake of burning fuel.:rolleyes: The vast majority of people behind the wheel are of the same mindset: they drive because they **have** to. Regardless of fuel price, it’s still 180 miles to Cleveland for me… that will never change. So if fuel is $1.00/gal. or $5.00/gal., I’m going to pay it, and off to the mistake-on-the-lake we go. I’ve no idea what “surprise” is going to be revealed in this poll, however, I **am** baffled by the notion that higher fuel costs equate to saving the planet in some people’s mind. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/29 "2019-03-28T14:58:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > 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. Debbie downer: current estimates say the recoverable hydrocarbon reserves exceed what we can afford to burn without making the planet significantly less habitable. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/30 "2019-03-28T16:41:14Z")
I bought a chunk of oil stocks years ago. It helps. When I’m getting screwed at the pump, the stock does well. When the gas is cheap, the stock is down. At least I’m never completely losing. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/31 "2019-03-28T17:28:03Z")
Thanks to the high cost of prescription drugs (boo!) I get a ton of money off per gallon by buying my expensive drugs at the local grocery store that has an attached gas station (yay!) I never have to pay full price for a gallon and usually I get 70 cents to $1.50 off per gallon. Couple that with having a work-from-home job, and living in a suburban city that offers most of what I need within a few miles (sadly, not walk-able), my gas expenditures for the year are typically under $300 total. And I drive a small SUV. Gas prices don’t affect my wallet directly, then. But I do realize the negative impact on the working class, as well as rising prices of consumer goods that are delivered by truck and plane (including all those Amazon deliveries I get, and the US Mail, which never stops). On the flip side, I do really like the idea of people driving less or investing in higher-mpg vehicles in order to use less gas. In Ohio they’re trying to pass a gas tax increase, and as a city council member I know exactly how my city will benefit monetarily from this. The cost to average working people does weigh heavily on my mind. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/32 "2019-03-28T17:41:11Z")
Make it $50 a gallon and I couldn’t care less. I am one of those odd people who has arranged their lives, for most of my life, that driving is an option and not a need. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/33 "2019-03-28T17:51:40Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Make it $50 a gallon and I couldn’t care less. I am one of those odd people who has arranged their lives, for most of my life, that driving is an option and not a need. Congratulations. I envy you. However, you realize you are one in a million, right? ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/34 "2019-03-28T18:06:45Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > . > > In Ohio they’re trying to pass a gas tax increase, and as a city council member I know exactly how my city will benefit monetarily from this. The cost to average working people does weigh heavily on my mind. As an Ohio “city council” member, I’m sure you understand that the proposed State gas tax increase will have a minimal effect on your local (city) street funds… However, I’m also sure that you’re aware that (Ohio) State roads are underfunded, and need the proposed tax increase to maintain road integrity in and out of your town… ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/35 "2019-03-28T18:44:10Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > As an Ohio “city council” member, I’m sure you understand that the proposed State gas tax increase will have a minimal effect on your local (city) street funds… However, I’m also sure that you’re aware that (Ohio) State roads are underfunded, and need the proposed tax increase to maintain road integrity in and out of your town… As a city with a very small budget and many lane miles, we’re always desperately in need of money for roads. Any increase in state funding is a huge help to us. Perhaps you misread my comment as dismissing the need for better infrastructure at the state level, but I was only commenting on the increase as it relates to my city, as I just this week received information from the state regarding the exact amount of revenue increase each municipality should expect depending on the amount of tax increase. I’m sorry if you felt that I was dismissing the need for infrastructure spending in the rest of the state. I did no such thing. It is desperately needed as well but still the costs will put a burden on all who buy gas in Ohio. That is the burden that will have to be weighed by the state legislature as they decide on the final tax amount. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/36 "2019-03-28T18:57:55Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > As a city with a very small budget and many lane miles, we’re always desperately in need of money for roads. Any increase in state funding is a huge help to us. Perhaps you misread my comment as dismissing the need for better infrastructure at the state level, but I was only commenting on the increase as it relates to my city, as I just this week received information from the state regarding the exact amount of revenue increase each municipality should expect depending on the amount of tax increase. > > I’m sorry if you felt that I was dismissing the need for infrastructure spending in the rest of the state. I did no such thing. It is desperately needed as well but still the costs will put a burden on all who buy gas in Ohio. That is the burden that will have to be weighed by the state legislature as they decide on the final tax amount. I understand that infrastructure costs money, and that money comes from taxation. I too live in a small city in Ohio, and it is my understanding that the proposed State gas tax increase wouldn’t affect our City revenue for roads in any substantial amount. I stand to be corrected?🙂 Thanks. ---
**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 28, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/37 "2019-03-28T22:53:09Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > I’ve no idea what “surprise” is going to be revealed in this poll, however, I **am** baffled by the notion that higher fuel costs equate to saving the planet in some people’s mind. Seconded. I’m also a bit :dubious: over how we’ve jumped from high gas _prices_ to high gas _taxes_. I’m pretty confident that the bulk of the price of gas has little to do with taxes; it has to do with lining pockets. And in either case, gas demand is famously inelastic. Trying to curb driving by raising taxes is horribly inefficient - unless the whole thing is a ruse to just collect more tax revenue, in which case I imagine it’s very efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/38 "2019-03-28T22:59:23Z")
> [@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. Your smugness is unappreciated – but I gotta join you there: I’m getting 50+ mpg on the motorcycle and I fill the tank for less than $10 once-a-week. But my attitude is also shaped by experience from a year in Japan in the mid-1990’s. Back then, gasoline was selling for about $1.80/liter – that’s about $6.80/gallon and, even when we went touring around the Noto peninsula just-for-the-hell-of-it my girlfriend wasn’t batting an eye about filling the tank. **TokyoBayer** , what’s a liter cost today? California’s gas prices are laughed-at because the state is known for tacking on a lot of taxes for various regulatory and environmental reasons. Nevertheless, even if I start commuting in an 18-wheeler I’m not gonna be complaining until we hit at least $5/gallon. –G! ETA: For those of you who don’t know me and my posting style, YES that’s an exaggeration! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/39 "2019-03-28T23:10:44Z")
Gas prices don’t directly affect me, since I commute by bicycle. Which frees me up to answer this question in terms of the long-term societal effect. High gas prices drive technological advancement to reduce dependence on gasoline, which is good. Plus the tax factor others have mentioned: Where prices are high, it’s mostly because of taxes, and tax money is not, despite what many seem to think, just poured into a pit and lost to the economy. When the government does all those things you like, it does it with tax money. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Innuendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636/40 "2019-03-29T00:31:50Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > And in either case, gas demand is famously inelastic. Trying to curb driving by raising taxes is horribly inefficient - unless the whole thing is a ruse to just collect more tax revenue, in which case I imagine it’s very efficient. Is it really, though? Do you have a cite for this? Because in my own experience, back 10 years or so ago when gas was in the $4-$5 a gallon range, there was DEFINITELY less cars on the road and traffic was notably better than either before or after that time. That’s part of the reason I’m for high gas prices - I’m for _anything_ that would significantly reduce traffic, up to and including high gas prices, high car prices, strict drivers licensing requirements, and orbital lasers from space that will impartially and summarily reduce anyone that comes to a complete stop on the freeway to vapor and ash. Realistically, the only one of those we’re ever going to get is high gas prices, so bring them on! Gas is way too cheap now, with a lot of negative externalities that aren’t being addressed at any level. I think any inelasticity may be time-dependent more than anything, I would imagine there’s a curve where driving-hours dips soon after gas prices reach a notably higher threshold, then gradually climb back up to some level near-but-still-below the cheap-gas peak over the next 6-12 months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-gas-prices-love-them-or-hate-them/831636.md?page=3)