Where is superman when you need him?

Do you know how much the rising cost of gas is taking out of your pocket? Think of it this way. Every penny the price of gas goes up, it takes $6 out of your pocket for each vehicle that is used regularly in your family. That assumes you drive an average of 15,000 miles per year. If you have 2 vehicles, a 10 cent increase in the price of gas will cost your family $120 per year. From May of 2007 until May of 2008, the average cost of gas has risen from $3.14 to $3.81 per gallon. That cost each of us an average of $402 per vehicle.

But wait! It doesn't stop there. You have to consider the impact on the trucking industry. Virtually everything we buy as consumers has transportation costs factored into their price. The American Trucking Association claims that every penny that diesel fuel goes up costs the industry $391 million per year. The price of diesel has risen 49 cents per gallon over the past year. That amounts to $19,159,000,000. I am guessing that the trucking industry has not absorbed that absurd amount of incremental cost.

Any thoughts on where that cost is being paid for? You guessed it. You and I are paying more for almost everything we buy. It may be only a penny here and a nickel there, but I can assure you there are few products that have escaped the clutches of the fuel choke hold. We the people, certainly have not escaped that choke hold. Where is superman when you need him?