Gasoline for United States citizens may be up to three dollars, shortly. What does that mean for individuals? People may take fewer trips out of town, including vacations, shopping trips, flights, cruises, etc. In addition, the change in gas prices may bring about a change in the risks people are willing to take both on the stock market and in their day-to-day spending. Still, there are those who claim that the current oil prices are not yet close to impacting the United States’ economy, while there are those who promise there will eventually be noticeable strain.

The Not-Yet Impacting Crowd

One belief is that the economy is not really being affected by high price of oil and gas, or perhaps is just not responding. There is a school of thought that claims the American economy is simply not as dependent on oil as it has been in the past. For one, many manufacturing jobs have been outsourced which has greatly reduced oil demand. In addition, fuel oil has been replaced by coal and natural gas for many industry needs. And while the argument can be made that SUVs are still eating up the gas, more and more hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars are being manufactured and sold. Arguments also posit the theory that Americans are just not ready to park their cars and climb aboard the public transit systems.

Those Who Feel the Economy Is Slumping

Still there are those who feel that the price of gas does affect the United States economy.
Many people feel the pinch of rising fuel costs while at the pump, but are they yet feeling that pinch at the supermarket? Rising fuel costs will directly affect consumers while at the pump, but they will also indirectly affect consumers in other ways, too. Everything from food to electronics must be shipped. Whether shipped on a bulk freighter across the ocean or trucked in from a neighboring town, all these items will eventually cost consumers more to move. Unfortunately, most businesses will pass those increased transportation costs to the consumer. This in turn will increase strain on the economy and ensure that a dollar no longer buys as much as it did just a few years ago when gas prices were much lower.