Tristan Strickland

José Ángel Maldonado, PhD

ENC 3250

26 March 2022

Gas prices impact now stretching:

As many of us know having to buy gas is always much a medial task, and with the price

seeming to change every other week it only feels good when we see the prices drop. Across the

world though, the price of gas has spiked reaching record breaking prices in some area and now

drivers are starting to feel it. In cities like Brandon, Lakeland, and Tampa the price of gas has

jumped upwards of 70 cents. With the lack of any well-established public transportation outside

of the main city centers, drives are forced to fork out large sums of cash just to participate in

their normal lives. Now with the poor state of the economy many are struggling to scrap up

enough funds to “comfortably” live.

Why:

Just what is the reason we are seeing gas prices take such dramatic spikes? There is no

one simple answer to this problem but a combination of issues that all hit at the same time which

was the cause of such a large jump. Any on these following reasons alone would most likely

result in a small unnoticeable increase in the price of gas. The major causes leading to the

dramatic spikes are:

  Lack of labor- This is affecting every industry across the US but within

the oil industry truck drivers are needed to transport goods from whatever facility it is

being held at to the store where the customer can buy it. Because of Covid-19

vaccinations imposed by both the US and Canadian governments many drivers have

either been let go, left their jobs, or refused to work until there is a change in mandates

resulting in a trucker shortage.

 Limited Importing- This is a secondary result of the lack of truckers and

the Covid-19 pandemic, as wave seen in the news many truckers have staged “walkouts”.

Because Canada; which the US imports 51% of its oil from (US Energy Information

Administration); has different procedures and restrictions when it comes to dealing with

covid it makes importing and exporting goods between the two countries extremely

tedious.

 Russian Invasion- While this incident seems so far away from US borders

most Americans wouldn’t think that it would have an impact on gas prices. It turns out

the US imports 8% of its oil from Russia (US Energy Information Administration).

Because of the invasion of Ukraine many countries including the US have banned the

importing of Russian oil as one of their major sanctions. While Russia is not the major

import country for oil the ban with still result in an unknown level on gas prices.

Hypothetical Explanation:

Other than the inconvenience it is leaving on customers, the rise in gas prices will start to

have major financial impacts on lower-and middle-class families. As of March 9th, most gas

stations have their prices set to $4.19 (AAA) a gallon. Within Hillsborough County and its

surrounding cities, the most common vehicles one could expect to see are:
  Sedans- fuel tanks range from 15-20 gallons (stock sizes) at an average

size of 17 gallons driver could expect to pay around $71.23 for a full tank.

 Vans- fuel tanks range from 18-22 gallons (stock sizes) at an average of

20 gallons drives could expect to pay around $83.80 for a full tank.

 Pick trucks- fuel tanks range from 22-30 gallon (stock sizes) at an average

size of 26 gallons truck drivers could expect to pay around $108.94 for a full tank.

(Dinsmore)

 SUVs- fuels tanks range from 20-34 gallons (stock sizes) at an average of

27 gallons drivers could expect to pay around $113.13 for a full tank. (Wiesenfelder)

If you take an average Joe who works a minimum wage job now $10 who is working 40

hours a week receiving a bi-weekly check can expect an $800 check not including the tax

withholdings. Depending on average drive time and distance plus any time spent driving to any

leisure activities we can estimate fueling up one a week. With this hypothetical situation

depending on the model of vehicle a person owns; they could be spending upwards of a fourth of

their paycheck on just gas alone.

This now becomes a major financial burden when bills and other living cost need to be

taken care of. In the prior hypothetical situation, a single person could expect to bring in a total

income of a minimum of around 1,200$ a month depending on vehicle model. That monthly

income then needs to be turned around and pay for groceries, insurance, phone bill, and rent.

Although most of these bills only occur once a month one could see the difficulty at hand when it

comes to budgeting and managing a livable income. Out of the hypothetical and into the real

world each of the following cites have the following median household incomes:
  Brandon-$62,953 (United States Census)

 Lakeland-$50,136 (United States Census)

 Tampa-$55,634 (United States Census)

The sad issue at hand is that this problem affects so many people beyond the just drivers.

Obviously, drivers are hit by this sudden spike the hardest as they are the primary group hit by

the price changes. If we take a deeper look into group those who fall into a lower bracket of

income are hit the worst, those who are classified as middle or high class have a bit more wiggle

room within their income to not stress over the price too much. However, those within the lower-

class bracket only have so much they can spread around and often can go days or weeks without

being able to meet financial needs, so this spike can completely derail any stability that they

were seeking. Beyond just drivers, other members within families can start to be affected without

even knowing what’s going on. Because of a shift in the inflow and out flow of traffic there

could be situations where there is less food coming into a home, utilities could go unpaid, and in

some extreme scenario’s children in low-income families could miss school because driving

them might be seen as an unnecessary expenditure. While some of these examples are extreme or

fall into niche situations it doesn’t mean they are impossible but harder to find.
 Works Citied:

AAA. “Florida Average Gas Prices.” AAA Gas Prices, https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=FL.

Dinsmore, Jimmy. “Want Less Fuel Ups? Compare 2022 Full-Size Truck Gas Tanks.” Pickup
Truck +SUV Talk, 17 Mar. 2022, https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/11/want-less-fuel-ups-
compare-2022-full-size-truck-gas-tanks/#:~:text=And%20when%20it%20comes
%20to,Ram%2C%20Toyota%20and%20Nissan).

Joe Wiesenfelder March 1, 2022, et al. “2017 Full-Size SUV Fuel-Tank Capacities: News.”
Cars.com, Cars.com, 3 Jan. 2017, https://www.cars.com/articles/2017-full-size-suv-fuel-
tank-capacities-1420692793821/.

United States Census. “U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Brandon City, Florida.” Census Quick
Facts, 1 Apr. 2020, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/tampacityflorida.

United States Census. “U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Lakeland City FLorida.” Census Quick
Facts, 1 Apr. 2022, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/US.

United States Census. “U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Tampa City, Florida.” Census Quick
Facts, 1 Apr. 2020, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/tampacityflorida.

US Energy Information Administration. “Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs) - U.S. Energy

Information Administration (EIA).” Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA), 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?
id=727&t=6.