Washington, DC – Republicans’ unnecessary war in Iran continues to cause pain at the pump and cost working families hundreds, with gas prices reaching their highest point since the war’s start.
According to CBS News reporting, gas prices hit an average of $4.18 on Tuesday, the highest point since the start of the war in Iran, which nearly every Republican in Congress voted to support. Americans have already lost an estimated $150 to higher gas prices from Republicans’ war, and are projected to lose roughly $800 by the end of the year.
Congressional Republicans’ support for the war comes after a year of Republicans attacking Americans’ health care and SNAP benefits and backing cost-raising tariffs – all while handing out massive tax breaks to billionaires. Now, working families already struggling to keep up with soaring costs everywhere from the doctor’s office to the grocery store are being forced to pay exorbitant prices at the pump as well.
“Every increase in gas prices makes it harder for Americans to commute to work, pick up their kids from school, or go to the grocery store to feed their families,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Americans are struggling to keep up, and they can’t afford to keep footing the bill for congressional Republicans’ pro-billionaire agenda.”
CBS News: Gas prices jump to their highest level since start of Iran war
Key Points:
- The average cost of a gallon of gasoline hit $4.18 on Tuesday, according to AAA, the highest level since the war in the Middle East began.
- Gasoline prices, which have risen by $1.20 a gallon since Feb. 28, climbed nearly 7 cents overnight, according to AAA.
- Over the last two months, Americans have spent $150 more on gas than they would have if it stayed below $3 a gallon, according to Neale Mahoney, an economics professor at Stanford University.
- By the end of the year, Mahoney predicts Americans will have spent roughly $800 more on gas than they would have if prices followed their pre-war trajectory.
- Even if the war ends and traffic resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, economists predict consumers will likely be stuck with elevated gas prices for the remainder of the year.
- Higher gas prices could take a serious toll on the economy as customers rein in their spending, threatening overall GDP growth, experts have warned.
- Higher diesel prices also threaten to increase the cost of food and other consumer goods as transportation costs grow.
- As of Tuesday, diesel was $5.46 a gallon, up $1.70 since the war began, according to AAA.
- “The impact of higher energy costs is most immediately felt and seen at the pump, but they raise costs more broadly,” Mahoney said. “You’ll see airfares going up if you’re searching for a summer vacation, and we see it in grocery prices,” he added.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.