Silver State Times

Gas prices continue to skyrocket around the country, including Nevada, which has seen an increase of $1.26 per gallon from a year ago, according to AAA.

Nevada has an average gas price of $3.89 per gallon. This is third in the nation only to California and Hawaii, which lead the country with $4.51 and $4.20 per gallon, respectively.

The highest recorded gasoline average price in Nevada came on June 20, 2008, at $4.27. Currently, the national average stands at $3.34, which is a drastic increase from a year ago when the average was $2.17. Only eight states have an average price of less than $3, according to AAA.

Nationally, this is the highest gasoline prices have been in seven years, Fox Business reported Oct. 11.

“The nation’s gas prices were also pushed to their highest since 2014, all on OPEC’s decision not to raise production more than it already agreed to in July,” Patrick De Haan, Gasbuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, according to Fox Business.

De Haan said that oil prices are the highest they have been since 2014, as well, with West Texas intermediate crude oil costing $80 per barrel.

An opinion piece by the New York Post on Aug. 12 blamed President Joe Biden for creating “roadblock after roadblock” in an effort to “decarbonize the U.S. economy.” 

The New York Post reported that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that OPEC “must do more to support” the post-pandemic recovery. He added that Biden has “made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump.”

The editorial also stated that since Biden arrived in office he “killed the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought 830,000 barrels of Canadian oil a day down south.”

Recently, Fox News reported that White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain retweeted a post calling inflation a “high-class problem” and that it wouldn’t be an issue if the unemployment rate rate was at 10%. The tweet, by Harvard professor Jason Furman, added that if the unemployment rate was still at 10% it would be a “much worse problem.” 

Republican National Committee Rapid Response Director Tommy Pigott responded in opposition, according to Fox News.

“Struggling to pay for food and housing because of rising prices is not a ‘high-class problem.' Biden is making everyone worse off, but instead of stopping the damage, their strategy is to try to gaslight Americans,” Pigott tweeted.

Winter is coming and the holiday season is near, which means inflation could lead to even more financial issues. The prices of natural gas and propane have risen 89%, according to an Oct. 5 commentary from Real Clear Politics.

A September consumer price index report showed that the U.S. is seeing the largest increase in prices since January 1991, CNBC reported Oct. 13. Prices increased 5.4% since the same time last year. This was driven by rises in fuel, food and housing costs. 

In the last year there have been major raises including gas at 42.1%, rental cars at 42.9%, used cars at 24.4%, hotels at 18%, televisions at 12.7%, furniture at 11.2%, grocery items at 10.5%, new cars at 8.2%, appliances at 7.1%, electricity at 5.2%, restaurants at 4.7% and rent at 2.9%, CNBC reported.

The 5.4% year-over-year price increase eclipses the 4.6% wage growth over the same period, eroding real wages.

“The rise in shelter costs will exacerbate the negative financial impact so many households are feeling from higher prices,” Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride told CNBC.