Who’s in charge of the gas?

So, now that the voting is done for this big election, what did you consider the most important issue affecting your vote? One issue that rose to the top quite frequently was ‘high gas prices.’ Does that mean lots of Americans assume the price of filling up your car largely depends on who’s in the White House at the time? That seems too simple an explanation.

The argument I often hear is that gas was pretty cheap when Donald Trump was in the Oval Office. According to a website called ‘Credit Donkey,’ the national average for gas was $2.17 a gallon in 2020. Down almost 50 cents from the year before. But some folks seem to forget that in 2020, there was a pandemic, and we weren’t driving very much. Once the pandemic passed, the national average went above $3 a gallon, and has stayed there.

Then there’s the popular website Gas Buddy, which points out that the La Crosse average is down this fall, to $2.80 per gallon. Before the election. Are we going to see a big change one way or another before year’s end, once we know for sure who got elected? Events around the world can make the pump price change. If the oil companies can keep it under $3 for a while, that would be a nice break. I’m Brad Williams.