While driving today, I saw something that I didn't think I was going to see again.
The gas price today was 2.19 a gallon.
It has not been this cheap in two years. Last year at this point it was 2.67 a gallon and back then we thought we were getting a bargain even then.
We are all skeptical that it will remain 2.19 a gallon. Sure it's a nice not having to pay fifty bucks to fill up but this doesn't mean that we should all start going back to driving freaking Hummers and SUVs and clog up the highways with 10 mile a gallon old tanks. Good thing I don't have the old 67 LTD anymore. Heck it would cost me 20 bucks to fill it up back in 1979 when it was 73 cents a gallon.
When my car was in the shop a few years ago, I had to borrow Mom's station wagon and even with 1.74 gas, it took 60 bucks to fill up and it would only last three days at best. At four bucks a gallon this summer it would have cost me a paycheck to fill it up!
So far this month we have seen the gas price fall almost a dollar fifty from 3.64 to 2.19 a gallon. And although the newscast think it could fall under two bucks, you can bet our OPEC buddies and Castro wannabe Hugo Chavez will turn off the oil faucet for that to ever happen. In fact I've seen the barrel price go back up to 67 bucks today, a five dollar increase from yesterday. If it's cheap gas for now, it won't be and we all know it.
So I would suggest to congress to continue to look for alternatives for oil, and not be so cavalier. They had a big chance to change back in 98 when gas was a dollar a gallon and the days for four dollar gas was predicted and the big solution was SUV's and Hummers. I wouldn't mind seeing gas at 2.19 a gallon but one knows that when springtime comes along next year it will once again go up.
We've seen history and the four dollar gas. We know it can and will happen again if we get to conplacement. Be happy for 2.19 a gallon gas but remain skepital.
