Beloit Clark service station owner Raj Patel hears first hand how high gas
prices are and how they are impacting everyday people at the pump and elsewhere.
“It’s extremely high right now and the trend is to keep going higher,” Range said, as he put gas in his truck at the Beloit Clark station on Broad Street. “There’s no more joy driving. It’s just from point A to point B. You’ve got the gas prices combined with the food and utility prices and we need help.”
The far-reaching effects of rising gas prices are becoming clear across the Stateline Area as residents dig deeper into their pockets to pay for their everyday needs, including gas.
To further Range’s point about high food prices, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the price of food rose 3.6 percent in February, the largest single month increase in 34 years. A good portion of that increase can be attributed to gas prices which now sit about $1 higher than this time last year
The average person or family is paying $1,100 more annually for gas based on today’s gas prices and fuel use of 1,100 gallons of gas per year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And businesses are in no way escaping the pain at the pump.
For some perspective on how high gas prices are and what their impact is, last year at this time the average price of a gallon of gas was $2.88 in Wisconsin. As of Wednesday, it was $3.97, $3.87 nationally and over $4 a gallon in Illinois. A month ago, it was $3.58, according to Pam Moen, spokesperson for Wisconsin’s AAA Madison office.
http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2011/04/29/news/local_news/news2901.txt
