American Outrage: Ridiculously High Gas

Just when it seems like the price at the pump can't get any higher, it does.

ByABC News
January 8, 2009, 1:13 AM

June 9, 2008— -- Anger. Frustration. Shock. Maybe even a few tears.

That is the scene from coast to coast as Americans shell out more and more money to fill up their cars with gas.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas now stands at a record $4.04, the Department of Energy announced this afternoon.

That's up more than 40 cents since the start of May and nearly a dollar since this time last year.

America's love affair with the car has never cost more. For many families already struggling with their mortgages and high food prices, this spring's quick run-up in prices is a nasty shock that adds insult to injury.

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For more than two decades Americans have enjoyed -- and prospered from -- cheap gasoline. That is no longer the case.

"When you're used to having something and then it's taken away, it's hard not to complain," said Gina Pierce, who lives in northern Minnesota.

Asked to describe the impact of gas prices, Pierce just said: "Tragic."

"I don't know how else to put it in a nicer way," she said. "I almost feel like the oil companies are being greedy more than anything else."

Pierce's family now spends $660 a month on gas, up from $360 just six months ago. Her husband drives 40 miles each way to his job as foreman of a lumber yard. They considered replacing his GMC Jimmy with a more fuel-efficient car but could not afford to do so.

To pay for gas, the family has canceled their children's health insurance and stopped making payments on their credit cards.

"It has hurt us tremendously," Pierce said. "It seems when the country as a whole is hurting, something should be done about it."

Gas price increases are particularly exasperating because they are so well-known. What other product advertises its cost with big billboards at every street corner?

When those signs first started flashing $3 a gallon back in May 2007 there was outrage, but then the summer driving season wound down and prices receded -- just a bit. But then in November, gas crossed the $3 threshold again and has not dropped below it since.