gas prices

I don’t know if anyone has realized it but gas prices are increasing so much, it’s crazy. I can remember when I first started driving it was only two or three dollars. Now it is almost up to four dollars. The news stated that last week gas prices hit a record average of $3.60 as the big oil companies like Exxon Mobil logged billions of dollars. There are many reasons why gas prices are so high though. For one, the price of crude oil which accounts for over half of the cost of gasoline at pumps hit records close to $120 a barrel. $120 is at least five times greater than the prices in 2002. In accordance with the raise in gas prices, United States drivers are expected to decrease their use of gasoline for the first time since the year 1991. Recently, there were hundreds of trucks protesting the diesel fuel prices because they have reached an average record of $4.38 per gallon. There are Democratic lawmakers who want to add on a new tax on oil company profits to help with the gas prices. Also, Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton both want to temporarily suspend an 18.4 cent per gallon gasoline tax over the summer. By doing this, the average family would save about $30 over the summer. According to oil companies, the high energy prices are not their fault. They are blaming the prices on crude oil markets. I think that gas prices have become such a problem for everyone who drives including families who do not have a high income, people who are retired, tractor trailer drivers, and even us teenagers who do not have a steady income. My parents have been looking for a new car for me but the options have been narrowed down so much because these days with all the driving I do I definitely need a car that is good on gas. Somehow I think officials are going to have to find away to decrease gas prices or else there will definitely be consequences in our economy.