this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024
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Right now gasoline is not "cheap."
US numbers, here. Circa 1995, 87 unleaded held at $0.99 per gallon for as long as gas station operators could hold on because they were deathly afraid of being perceived to cross the $1 mark. That's $1.98/gal in today's money adjusted for inflation. That was cheap. That's actually cheaper in inflation-adjusted terms than it was in your parents' golden years when they claimed everything cost a nickel. Cheaper even than it was in 1964 or even 1955.
Though it was even cheaper in the past, gasoline today is still VERY cheap in the US because the US has one of the lowest fuel taxes in the developed world. Economists, right and left, love the gas tax because driving incurs so many negative externalities.
Incidentally, this is one reason why roads and bridges are falling apart in such a rich country. The fuel tax pays for infrastructure and it is way too low.