For Most Americans, $3.49 Gas is Now a Reality as Prices Continue Historic Drop

     Although the corporate media was hesitant to report it, inflation declined from 9.1 percent to 8.5 percent in July of 2022. Core inflation, a critical indicator of the cost of living, has been slowly but steadily declining over the last several months to the point that it is now beneath six percent. The difference between core inflation and headline inflation, e.g. the aforementioned 9.1 and 8.5 numbers you see in the headlines (hence the name), is the cost of food and fuel.

     As for fuel costs, Americans have seen considerable relief since gas prices peaked on June 14th, 2022, at just over $5 per gallon. Over the course of the last 82 days, gas prices have fallen to just over $3.75 per gallon nationwide, a decrease of nearly $1.25 between Flag Day and Labor Day. Just two states-- Hawaii and California-- still have an average gas price of $5 per gallon or greater. In 37 states, the cost of gas is $3.99 or less per gallon. In three more states, the price is just over $4 and should dip beneath the $3.99 point within the next week. This will leave just eight states with gas between $4 and $5.

     During this period, gas prices in the states where it cost the least dipped beneath $3.30 per gallon. If this trend continues, some states could soon see gas beneath $3 per gallon. Continuing this trend, while possible, would be unprecedented. This decrease is already set to be the largest in modern history, with a drop that could top $2 by the time it is finished, or a decline of 40 percent from the peak cost of gas. This goal is ambitious but achievable: the overwhelming majority of gas stations nationwide offer gas at the price of $3.49 per gallon. When the same was true for gas at $3.99, it took just two to three weeks for the nationwide average to dip to that level.

     The current record for the longest decrease in gas prices was set near the end of the Obama administration in 2015, when gas costs fell for a consecutive 117 days. If prices continue to drop until October 10th, the decline we are experiencing now will beat the record and make it the best decline in terms of both length and amount. This progress, reversing the financial damage inflicted by Putin's war in Ukraine, didn't happen overnight. President Biden has offered more oil and gas leases than any president in U.S. history, rallied the release of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil globally, warned companies against price gouging, and signed the Inflation Reduction Act to make a historic $375 billion investment in clean energy and energy security. This has ensured that costs have declined at home while keeping our allies in Europe from facing crippling energy shortages.

     There is still more to do: President Biden has called on Congress to pass legislation suspending the federal gas tax and implementing a "use it or lose it" policy for federal energy leases while House Democrats have passed legislation to curb corporate buybacks and price gouging by America's largest fossil fuel companies. However, if what I described above alone comes to fruition, Americans can expect to see headline inflation drop in August and again in September and October. For now, as we look forward, toward the cost of gas and the pressures of inflation subsiding to their pre-pandemic levels, let's look with pride on the progress we have made.