Trump’s war with Iran causes an increase in the price of gas: enough is enough

In less than a month, gas prices have risen more than $1 a gallon in the Atlanta suburbs, where Joshua Elliott delivers meals every morning for DoorDash before signing on to his full-time job. Higher fuel costs have added about $15 a week to their driving expenses, almost equal to the take-home pay of an hour of food delivery.

“It’s not life-changing, but it’s probably an extra hour or hour and a half of work,” says the 33-year-old, who is trying to save up for an engagement ring for his girlfriend. “That was the time I was going to relax. Now I have to go out to work. I feel more of a routine.”

Gasoline prices have soared about 30% nationwide in the three weeks since the United States and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran. The cost of crude oil, which largely determines what drivers pay at the pump, has soared above $100 a barrel as Iran strangles the vital shipping corridor known as the Strait of Hormuz. Israel’s attacks on Iranian oil and gas fields on Wednesday raised the possibility of long-term disruptions to fuel production.

President Donald Trump has not indicated when the war might end, or even what would constitute an American victory. Meanwhile, what Elliott has witnessed in Georgia: a jump from approximately between 2.71 and 3.77 dollars per gallon, according to AAA, is comparable to the average increase in fuel costs for the entire country. makes for him The second largest increase in the price of gas in a month. in three decades, only behind the supply shock created by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“It’s a big hit to people’s pockets.”

-Dean Baker, economist

As with your unpopular tariffsTrump is betting that Americans are willing to pay more at the pump in service of his foreign policy agenda. But if his administration does not find a way out of war to stabilize the oil market, higher fuel costs will ripple through the broader economy in the form of higher consumer prices, lower job growth, and greater sacrifice by the working class.

“I think we’re likely to see it pretty quickly. It’s a big hit to people’s pockets,” said Dean Baker, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. “Maybe something will happen with the war and prices will fall again and this will turn out to be temporary. But I don’t think it’s likely.”

Workers who have long commutes or cover their own fuel costs as part of their job, like Elliott, are the first to feel the pressure. But higher gas prices will raise the costs of anything that requires transportation, Baker said, affecting discretionary spending as people cut back on what isn’t necessary, like getting a vacation because of higher airfares or skipping DoorDash orders to cook at home.

Lindsey Wasson/AP

Ashley Brown, a stylist living in Seattle, said the rising cost of fuel has led her to reimagine her commute. Washington state has one of the highest gas prices in the country (currently about $5.15 a gallon, up from $4.18 a month ago), and she drives her Mazda 15 miles each way to and from the work space she rents in the Seattle suburbs. He has decided to switch to the light rail, which costs $3 a ride. It will double your travel time, but you think you’ll help the environment and save money on gas and wear and tear.

“I feel like we’re being squeezed everywhere,” the 39-year-old said. “The cost of doing business, the cost of food, the cost of living. And now with the increase in gas, there’s just no room.”

Brown said she’s already felt her profit margins shrink as an independent stylist. The Trump administration’s tariffs have rising prices of hair products made abroadincluding coloring, and Brown has tried to resist passing on those increases to her clients. The additional fuel costs were an unpleasant surprise.

“It seems like enough is enough,” Brown said.

“I feel like we’re being squeezed everywhere else… And now with the increase in fuel, there’s just no room.”

– Ashley Brown, a stylist living in Seattle.

The war has made inflation much harder for policymakers to predict. The producer price index, which measures wholesale prices, rose to its highest level in a year last month, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase was mainly due to rising food and energy prices, including a 14% increase in the cost of diesel fuel, which powers trucks, barges and farm equipment.

“The rise in energy prices in February is just the beginning,” Oxford Economics warned in a memo on Wednesday, noting that those figures would not reflect the increase in diesel in March since the war began.

Elliott said he will continue driving for DoorDash despite the additional fuel costs, although he doesn’t expect customers to increase their tips because of it; After all, everyone is paying more to get around. His girlfriend, for example, commutes 44 miles round trip each day and has already felt the impact on her budget.

One of the most aggravating factors for Elliott is that the price increase could have been avoided. He does not support what he calls “a useless war that we should never have gotten involved in.”

“It’s one of many things where I think, ‘Why are we doing this?’” he said.