Gas prices hit $3 nationwide

image
Ryan JaroncykRyan Jaroncyk
Published: 23 Dec, 2010
1 min read

While Wall St. and the Federal Reserve continue to claim that inflation is virtually non-existent, Main St. knows otherwise.  According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas has surpassed the $3 mark again, placing increased financial strain on consumers facing 9.8% official unemployment and 17.0% official underemployment.  Since this time last year, the nation's average gas price has risen almost 17%.  Unseasonably cold weather in the U.S. and Europe, a weak U.S. Dollar, record deficits, the Federal Reserve's latest money printing stimulus, and recovering stock markets are widely considered to be the primary factors in the precipitous rise in gas prices.  With crude oil expected to push toward $100 a barrel again, gas prices could rise well past the $3 a gallon mark in the coming weeks.

And it's not just gas prices, either.

Food inflation is beginning to hit Americans in the pocketbooks again.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have grown more than 1.5 times the overall rate of inflation this year.  Since last year, meat, poultry, fish, and egg prices have surged 5.8%, and dairy products have risen 3.8%.  Some economists are predicting as much as 2-4% food inflation in 2011, while the National Inflation Association is predicting that "food prices will take over in 2011 as America's greatest crisis".  Rampant food inflation is already present in places like China and India.

As government economists and Wall St. analysts crow about stock market returns and subdued Consumer Price Index (CPI) readings, Main St. America is experiencing high unemployment, stagnant wages, and rising food & fuel costs.  If the trend continues, 2011 could become the year of stagflation.  And as we learned in 2008, food & fuel inflation are often followed by a major economic crisis.

You Might Also Like

Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is suing Secretary of State Jane Nelson in an effort to close the state’s primary elections to party members only – a move that the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) tried back in 2013 in its state and failed. ...
05 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read
Supreme Court building.
Retired Attorney Takes Voting Rights Case All the Way to the Supreme Court -- By Himself
The next big voting rights case the Supreme Court of the United States could consider wasn’t filed by the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, or another household name when it comes to voter rights. ...
09 Sep, 2025
-
5 min read
congress flag
Poll: 82% of Americans Want Redistricting Done by Independent Commission, Not Politicians
There may be no greater indication that voters are not being listened to in the escalating redistricting war between the Republican and Democratic Parties than a new poll from NBC News that shows 8-in-10 Americans want the parties to stop....
10 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read