It is currently about $4.36 for gas. 3 months ago, it was about $3.31. Multiply that with however many gallons your fuel tank holds and you could be looking at paying anywhere from $60 to $105. Gas should be less than a dollar per gallon for it is not that hard to fill up your gas tank. You are simply finding a gas station and then filling your car with gas which is something everyone does. Something so simple should not be priced so high. 

“The Guardian” mentions 19-year-old Anna Hokuf who is homeless from her previous abusive environment and lives in her car. She pays $40 a day for gas just to keep her and her cat warm at night and tries her best to make sure she has enough money for food and clothing. That being said, with gas prices rising, low-income families that are struggling to get by could find themselves in this position for the money that they make is not enough to sustain gas and their needs.

In the 1970s, gas used to be less than a dollar but there are so many reasons why it rose. One reason is more oil factories going out of business and having more oil factories being installed; another reason is when COVID started, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations that produced oil had to cut production and when everything was getting better again, they were late to the curve. These are some of the reasons why gas prices went up but no one was bothered about it because the final cost was not as expensive as it is today.

Fuel poverty is when the required fuel costs are above average. When a family spends so much on gas it leaves them with a residual income below the official poverty line. It is also when a family goes completely broke spending so much money on gas that they have very little money to take care of their other needs. They can end up being homeless. 

The federal government and a good amount of people see these problems and they are trying their very best to ensure that nobody is in a situation where they are at the very bottom even though some people put themselves in a situation where it is difficult to escape. One example is giving out gas cards to those that are either financially struggling or on the verge of being in a financial crisis so that those who already spend lots of money on necessities will not be spending as much.

One way that gas prices can be lowered is by giving a reasonable argument as to why gas prices should not be so high. Middle and high-income families will not be affected by this because they are in a better financial place but making it equal for everyone would also help for this would eliminate the miscommunication between low-income and middle plus high-income families. The economy will also benefit from low gas prices because inflation will decrease and economic growth will be improved which will put the economy in a better position.