Conservative Article: Gas more affordable than in 1960

Get ready for the biggest load of crap you'll read all day.

Barack Obama thinks the government should intervene on gas prices to "give families some relief," and last week called for releasing 70 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. John McCain proposes an end to the ban on offshore drilling and has pushed for a gas-tax holiday because "we need it, we need it very badly."

But both candidates and the public are evidently unaware of a basic fact: Gasoline is more affordable for American families now than it was in the days of the gas-guzzling muscle cars of the early 1960s. Prices are beginning to come down somewhat, but this was true even when the national average was at its summer peak.

Two-thirds of American voters say they think that the price of gas is "an extremely important political issue," and many believe that it will cause them "serious" financial hardship, according to a recent survey by the Associated Press and Yahoo.

Although it's true that the real (inflation-adjusted) and nominal (posted) prices of gasoline are higher than at any time since World War II, even at the recent peak national average of $4.11 a gallon (California's average Friday was $4.17), gasoline is still more affordable today than it was during the Kennedy administration. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke worries that increasing fuel prices might eat up so much disposable income that it flat-lines consumer spending and tanks the economy. But it's difficult to square that worry with what we call the "affordability index" -- the ratio of the average person's disposable income to the price of gasoline.....(truncated)

Source


What this "study" doesnt take into effect, in terms of determining how affordable something is

is the rise in the cost of EVERYTHING around it.

If gas is 2 dollars a gallon, and you have 10 dollars. You could buy a gallon of gas and have 8 dollars left to pay for your food, groceries, bills, rent, and entertainment


When gas is 4 dollars a gallon, and you have 10 dollars, you have less money to cover all of the other necessities of your standard of living.

Making gas less affordable.


The lengths that some conservatives will go to nurture big oil is truly shocking.


Furthermore, if its cheaper than during the kennedy administration - why is more expensive than during the clinton administration?

[edit on 8/12/2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]

Well even the title of the article doesn't say gas is more affordable, it says that it's 'cheaper.' Which is exactly what you are saying - cheaper, not more affordable. Semantics, I know, but it's true.

No, it doesnt

You may not believe it, but fuel is more affordable than it was during the early '60s.

from the headline


"more affordable"


If you can "afford" something it means you have the extra income to purchase it.

If gas prices are high
food prices are high
entertainment prices are high

then the affordability of gas is low