It was as the saying goes “déjà vu all over again.” There I was Thursday sitting in a gas line and it could have been thirty five years ago when the sight was all too frequent. However this gas line was not due to availability but rather price as I and many others sought a break at a time when we’re not getting any in the cost per gallon. We’ve been watching the price rise almost daily for more than a week but gas stations on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike can only raise their prices once per week and that day is Friday. So yesterday the cost of $3.17 for a gallon of regular at the Lukoil at the Wall rest area on the Parkway was a bargain and worth the wait for….or was it.
I actually waited in line for about 20 minutes to fill up and when all was said and done saved about $3.00 or a couple of cups of coffee. But it was not just about saving a few dollars but feeling for once that you were getting a deal which is pretty funny when you think about how much the cost has gone up just in the last couple of weeks. What is more of a concern to most of us is not what the cost is today but rather what will it be in July or September or say just before Election Day because make no mistake about it this will become a major issue for voters. We all keep hearing about the profits being made by large oil companies while prices close it on $4.00 per gallon. The increases are having a major impact for the thousands who commute each day from the shore area, are effecting the costs of goods and services on just about everything and could be devastating to tourism this summer.
By the way it my memory serves me correct we had two gas crisis during the 70’s. The first started in the fall of 1973 and lasted through March of 74 with prices going from about 40 to 75 centers per gallon. The second crisis which was not as bad came in 1979 and we were paying about a dollar per gallon at that time. Now almost 30 years later prices are out of control and clearly we feel used and abused.
I actually waited in line for about 20 minutes to fill up and when all was said and done saved about $3.00 or a couple of cups of coffee. But it was not just about saving a few dollars but feeling for once that you were getting a deal which is pretty funny when you think about how much the cost has gone up just in the last couple of weeks. What is more of a concern to most of us is not what the cost is today but rather what will it be in July or September or say just before Election Day because make no mistake about it this will become a major issue for voters. We all keep hearing about the profits being made by large oil companies while prices close it on $4.00 per gallon. The increases are having a major impact for the thousands who commute each day from the shore area, are effecting the costs of goods and services on just about everything and could be devastating to tourism this summer.
By the way it my memory serves me correct we had two gas crisis during the 70’s. The first started in the fall of 1973 and lasted through March of 74 with prices going from about 40 to 75 centers per gallon. The second crisis which was not as bad came in 1979 and we were paying about a dollar per gallon at that time. Now almost 30 years later prices are out of control and clearly we feel used and abused.
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