Washington, DC…August 30, 2012””American Majority Action President and CEO Ned Ryun released the following statement today in reaction to Labor Day gasoline prices set to exceed the 5-year average by 20%.
“While he may not admit it at the convention next week, during his 2008 campaign, Obama was “angered” that gas prices were well over $3 a gallon and blamed the Bush Administration for not doing anything to lower costs for our families. He promised to change that. Four years later, with the national average price of a gallon almost double what it was when he took office, Obama has clearly failed to deliver.
Today, with the Obama Administration’s energy policy far more focused on electric cars people don’t want and failed companies like Solyndra, gas prices have never been higher. These higher gas prices affect far more than weekend travel plans. They hike up transportation and production costs, robbing businesses and crippling job growth.
The President’s repeated stonewalling of the Keystone XL pipeline, limiting offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and blocking access to shale resources is draining Americans’ wallets. It’s time for Obama and liberal special interests to finally get out of the way of progress on a real national energy solution.”
MAJORITY POINTS
- When Barack Obama took office, gas was an average of $1.95 per gallon. Today, gas is $3.80 per gallon and in some areas over $4.
- On average, an increase in a penny a gallon is worth slightly over $1 billion in consumer purchasing power if maintained over the course of a year. This means that a dollar increase would be more than $100 billion, which is about equal to the size of the Social Security tax cut.
- Gas is up 32 cents from just one month ago. If the trend continues, this 32-cent jump could mean $32 billion snatched from consumers’ wallets over the course of the year.
- The average American household currently spends a whopping $3,348 of its after tax income on fuel.
- Each 10-cent rise in gas prices means that the average household spends nearly $100 more on gas per year.
MEDIA CONTACT
Thomas J. Basile
TBasile@EmpireStrategy.com
917-579-2216