In President Joe Biden’s America, there’s a lot more pain in getting from here to there.
Gasoline prices have risen 40 percent since the waning days of the Trump administration, according to the American Automobile Association, which on Tuesday said its data pegged the average price of gas at $3.13 a gallon, up from $2.25 in January.
From July 1-5 in 2020, the average price of gas was $2.17 a gallon. Heading into the holiday weekend in 2021, drivers faced the steepest gas prices since Independence Day weekend in 2014, when the average was $3.66.
By Tuesday, gas prices were up 95 cents a gallon from their 2020 levels. Although prices vary by state and region, California led the nation with an average gas price of $4.305 a gallon, according to AAA.
But AAA said the pain is only beginning.
Prices are expected to rise another 10 to 20 cents per gallon through August, with a national average price estimated to hit at least $3.25 a gallon this summer.
“Robust gasoline demand and more expensive crude oil prices are pushing gas prices higher,” AAA spokeswoman Jeanette McGee said.
“We had hoped that global crude production increases would bring some relief at the pump this month, but weekend OPEC negotiations fell through with no agreement reached. As a result, crude prices are set to surge to a seven-year-high.”
In fact, AAA predicts crude oil and gasoline prices will hit levels not seen since October 2014, when Biden was vice president to former President Barack Obama.
The hike in prices caused a buzz on Twitter.
Gas prices are up over 50% since last 4th of July weekend.
What’s changed since then?
Oh that’s right, the Biden regime took over. pic.twitter.com/2UxhV4nLCR
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 2, 2021
Inflation is up.
Crime is up in Democrat-run cities.
Illegal border crossings are up.
Gas prices are up.
Cyber attacks are up.
Taxes will be going up.This is Joe Biden’s America.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) July 6, 2021
You see: Kim Kardashian
We see: $4.79/gallon gas?!?! https://t.co/BmmrL1Yymr
— GasBuddy (@GasBuddy) July 6, 2021
David Wilcox, a former Federal Reserve economist who is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said skyrocketing gas prices could hurt any hope for a post-COVID economic rebound, according to The New York Times.
“I don’t expect the price of oil to be the last straw on the camel’s back, but it is another straw on a camel’s back that’s already carrying a fair amount of baggage,” he said. “There is a much greater risk today of an inflationary psychology taking hold than I would have said three to five years ago.”
As rising gas prices gouge out more and more from workers’ paychecks, some Republicans blame Biden.
“Bad policy is already creating conditions like higher gasoline prices that we haven’t seen in a very long time,” Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming wrote in an Op-Ed on Fox News last week.
“As energy costs rise, so do the prices of groceries and household products that are shipped across the country. People are noticing. The price of meat, poultry, eggs, vegetables and dairy have all gone up,” he wrote.
“Nowhere are Americans feeling the pain more than at the pump. Gasoline prices have spiked about 70 cents per gallon since President Biden was inaugurated. They will only continue to climb.”
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is doing all he can when it comes to gasoline prices, and noted many factors are beyond Biden’s grasp.
“I think there sometimes is a misunderstanding of what causes gas prices to increase and so, to convey to the American people, that we’re working on it and certainly the supply availability of oil has a huge impact,” Psaki said, according to The Hill. “I would also say that ensuring Americans don’t bear a burden at the pump continues to be a top priority for the administration at large.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.