Gasoline in the US: Choose Between Filling Up or Eating
A US driver complaining about gas prices goes viral: fill the tank or buy food. An analysis of car dependency.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
When Gasoline Forces a Choice Between Eating and Working
How much does fuel have to rise to shake an entire country? In the United States, the answer has a scene and a protagonist: a driver who, with a visible cut on her forehead, rails against gasoline prices in a viral video. Her dilemma summarizes the problem better than any report. She either fills the tank or buys food. She chooses the tank. Without a car, she can't get to work.
This episode is not an isolated anecdote. It's the tip of the iceberg of an economy organized around the automobile, where the gas pump has become the thermometer of inflation. And the thermometer is showing a fever.
Why Gas Prices Hit Harder in the US
Car dependency isn't a vice; it's infrastructure. Some recall a friend in Texas who drives 65 kilometers each way, Monday to Thursday, as the most normal thing in the world. Suggesting public transport or cycling in a large part of the country sounds like a joke. Testimonies circulate of signs that directly prohibit walking on certain roads.
That reality explains why a rise in gasoline prices translates into a direct blow to the pockets of the middle and lower classes. The alternative doesn't exist: there's no commuter rail network covering endless suburbs, nor a sidewalk to walk to the supermarket. The gallon goes up, everything goes up.
Liters Compared: Gallons, Euros, and the Mirage of Cheap Fuel
The math is done and undone. A US gallon is equivalent to 3.785 liters. While in much of Europe the liter was around 1.20 euros, across the Atlantic, the gallon hovered near 1.45. Translated to liters, the US driver still pays less for the same thing.
Hence the division. One current holds that fuel is still cheap for the country's wages. The opposing argument weighs heavily: the complaint isn't about the absolute price, but the estimulante ilegal at which it has risen. Going from free to expensive in two years hurts more than always being expensive.
Wages, Inflation, and Who Gets the Blame
On paper, the numbers hold up. The average salary in the US is around 55,000 dollars annually, and a Walmart truck driver would now be earning close to 100,000. The pessimistic scenario starts from a different point: that the cost of living is outpacing wages.
Politics enters the picture directly. The Federal Reserve is blamed for printing money and denying inflation until it was impossible to hide. Trump's tweet from June 15, 2019, warning of an unprecedented market crash if he wasn't re-elected—with a wink—is brought up. And the debate rages on whether the problem started before Biden or is Biden's fault. The usual story: the bill is paid by those at the bottom, the narrative is written by those at the top.
The SUV as a Symbol of Excess
The vehicle itself is also under scrutiny. The urban SUV, that 6,000-cubic-centimeter tank that fills up without breaking a sweat, carries a good portion of the blame. Not just for the consumption, but also for safety.
Cited studies suggest that SUVs make it 11% more likely for someone to die in an accident and increase the potential mortality of hit pedestrians by up to 70%. The engineering of size comes with a price that doesn't show up at the pump.
The Transition That Hasn't Arrived Yet
In parallel, the counter-argument emerges: the huge roofs of American houses are fertile ground for solar self-consumption, and some see this as an advantage over European vertical beehives. They say the energy transition will be carried out by them with more square meters per person.
Perhaps. In the meantime, the lady with the cut on her forehead keeps filling the tank.
Nothing unites a country like blaming the gas pump. Too bad the gas pump doesn't vote.
How much does fuel have to rise to shake an entire country? In the United States, the answer has a scene and a protagonist: a driver who, with a visible cut on her forehead, rails against gasoline prices in a viral video. Her dilemma summarizes the problem better than any report. She either fills the tank or buys food. She chooses the tank. Without a car, she can't get to work.
This episode is not an isolated anecdote. It's the tip of the iceberg of an economy organized around the automobile, where the gas pump has become the thermometer of inflation. And the thermometer is showing a fever.
Why Gas Prices Hit Harder in the US
Car dependency isn't a vice; it's infrastructure. Some recall a friend in Texas who drives 65 kilometers each way, Monday to Thursday, as the most normal thing in the world. Suggesting public transport or cycling in a large part of the country sounds like a joke. Testimonies circulate of signs that directly prohibit walking on certain roads.
That reality explains why a rise in gasoline prices translates into a direct blow to the pockets of the middle and lower classes. The alternative doesn't exist: there's no commuter rail network covering endless suburbs, nor a sidewalk to walk to the supermarket. The gallon goes up, everything goes up.
Liters Compared: Gallons, Euros, and the Mirage of Cheap Fuel
The math is done and undone. A US gallon is equivalent to 3.785 liters. While in much of Europe the liter was around 1.20 euros, across the Atlantic, the gallon hovered near 1.45. Translated to liters, the US driver still pays less for the same thing.
Hence the division. One current holds that fuel is still cheap for the country's wages. The opposing argument weighs heavily: the complaint isn't about the absolute price, but the estimulante ilegal at which it has risen. Going from free to expensive in two years hurts more than always being expensive.
Wages, Inflation, and Who Gets the Blame
On paper, the numbers hold up. The average salary in the US is around 55,000 dollars annually, and a Walmart truck driver would now be earning close to 100,000. The pessimistic scenario starts from a different point: that the cost of living is outpacing wages.
Politics enters the picture directly. The Federal Reserve is blamed for printing money and denying inflation until it was impossible to hide. Trump's tweet from June 15, 2019, warning of an unprecedented market crash if he wasn't re-elected—with a wink—is brought up. And the debate rages on whether the problem started before Biden or is Biden's fault. The usual story: the bill is paid by those at the bottom, the narrative is written by those at the top.
The SUV as a Symbol of Excess
The vehicle itself is also under scrutiny. The urban SUV, that 6,000-cubic-centimeter tank that fills up without breaking a sweat, carries a good portion of the blame. Not just for the consumption, but also for safety.
Cited studies suggest that SUVs make it 11% more likely for someone to die in an accident and increase the potential mortality of hit pedestrians by up to 70%. The engineering of size comes with a price that doesn't show up at the pump.
The Transition That Hasn't Arrived Yet
In parallel, the counter-argument emerges: the huge roofs of American houses are fertile ground for solar self-consumption, and some see this as an advantage over European vertical beehives. They say the energy transition will be carried out by them with more square meters per person.
Perhaps. In the meantime, the lady with the cut on her forehead keeps filling the tank.
Nothing unites a country like blaming the gas pump. Too bad the gas pump doesn't vote.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (174 replies).
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