Gas prices have been rising in the United States this past year, with prices reaching as high as $6 in California. There has been quite a few changes in policies regarding oil and gas drilling in the United States this year causing the prices to go up. In addition, certain pipelines shut down earlier this year which affected the supply of gas. For example, there has been a ban on several drilling permits on a variety different federal properties (IER, 2021, para. 1). Whereas in 2017, the process to drill on those same federal lands were approved which would have given the United States more jobs and more oil and gas reserves (IER, 2021, para. 2). With the new policies putting halts on new oil and gas drilling within the United States, it makes the United States dependent on other countries for those resources. Not only does that make gas and energy prices higher, but it also takes away a large amount of jobs for US citizens as well (IER, 2021, para. 4). As gas prices are going up around the holidays, it can affect spending for a large amount of families. “Americans are expected to have $46 million less to spend on items such as presents, as this is mostly caused by rising inflation and the rising costs of gas and heating oil” (Flickenscher, 2021, para.1). Macroeconomics is all about the way policies impact people. With the increase in gas prices and inflation, many American could have a very different looking holiday this year.
References
IER. (2021). Biden Suspends New Leases for Oil and Gas Drilling on Federal lands. Institute for Energy Research. Retrieved from: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/fossil-fuels/gas-and-oil/biden-suspends-new-leases-for-oil-and-gas-drilling-on-federal-lands/
Flickenscher, L. (2021). Rising gas prices will take big bite out of holiday spending. NY Post. Retrieved from: https://nypost.com/2021/10/19/rising-gas-prices-will-take-a-big-bite-out-of-holiday-spending/