OT. Politics pump up importance of current oil 'crisis'
Published Sunday, March 26, 2000
" Statistics provided by the industry and federal energy officials show that, in inflation-adjusted dollars, this month's most recent $1.57-a-gallon national average, an increase of 13 percent since February, is lower than it was during most of the 20th century. The inflation-adjusted price of gas was higher than $1.57 every year between 1919 and 1969. Since then, the price has been higher in 13 years, lower in 18 years. The highest pump price was recorded in 1981, when it reached $2.46 in inflation-adjusted dollars. The $1.57 average is roughly the same as it was in 1970, when the posted pump price was about 36 cents a gallon.
But that doesn't necessarily lessen the sting, Kohut said. "The average person at the gas pump isn't thinking this is cheaper in real terms than it was in 1945," he said. "It's the perception of something like this that counts far more than the reality."
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