One of the hot topics in today’s political race is the high gas prices. This national issue is not only affecting adults, but students who drive to school each day. As gas prices continue to go up, students wallets seem to become emptier.
Students are constantly complaining about the high gas prices. Senior David Kuiper earns 20 dollars a week. He is forced to spend around ten dollars each week on gas, 50 percent of his income. “I really hate the high gas prices…I can’t do things like go to places that require money with my friends,” said Kuiper. Students who drive are hit the hardest because they are usually paid the minimum income, which makes it hard to pay for gas
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While many students do not pay for gas themselves, the high prices have caused parents to have second thoughts about letting their children drive to school. “My mom said I couldn’t drive to school when I first got my license because of how much it will cost,” said junior Brian Moran.
Gas prices have fallen in the past few weeks, but are still much higher than years previous. According to the American Automobile Association the average gas price across the U.S. is $3.18. The average gas price for the Rockville area is $3.64, almost 50 cents more expensive than the national average. Only a year ago, the average gas price in the Rockville area was $2.79.
In a worldly perspective, the gas prices of the United States is not all that expensive. Gas prices have hit record highs, while still being cheaper than the 1970’s gas shortage. However, the average cost of a gallon of gas in Europe is almost two times as high.
According to CNNMoney.com, the United States does not even rank within the top ten nations for the most expensive gas. With the price of a gallon of gas currently at $6.48, the Netherlands has the most expensive gas. Other European nations have high gas prices as well, including Norway at $6.27, Italy at $5.96 and the United Kingdom at $5.79.
While many nations in Europe have a higher price per gallon of gas than the United States, there are also nations that are much cheaper. One of the cheapest nations for gas, Venezuela, charges only 12 cents per gallon of gas. Other nations with cheap gas prices include Russia with $2.10 a gallon and Egypt with 65 cents a gallon.
