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Opinion

Rising gas prices only continue with Iraq war

Cheycara Latimer
Opinion Columnist

The constant increase in the price of gas seems to be more dreadful than having two or three exams in one day.

The rising prices have become not only out of control but they have become a nuisance to us all. The necessity for fuel is truly astounding because people seem to be traveling more and for longer distances. Whether our travels take us to school, work or on vacation, we incur gas prices that often not only break our wallets but sometimes our weekly budget. 

It seems that no sooner than gas prices increase the price of everything else consumers and businesses utilize on a daily or weekly basis increases as well. 

The fact that the price could increase from morning to night is shocking. Picture driving by your neighborhood gas station in the morning and the price is approximately $2.02 for unleaded. Now picture driving by again, perhaps around 7 or 8 p.m., and the price has increased 10 or 15 cents. 

Although it's only a few cents, it could add up to a few extra dollars in the end. Instead of spending a two-week average of $40 or $50, the average driver will more than likely spend an additional $10 or $15. 

Instead of spending that money on gas, it could be spent on groceries, put toward semester books or even deposited into a bank for safekeeping. 

While being able to save a little bit of money would be great, the fact of the matter is that with the increase in gas comes the increase in everything else. 

Take for example the delivery cost of pizza. According to a CBS Channel 5 article in San Francisco, Papa Johns and Dominoes restaurants in that area have added delivery surcharge to offset the costs associated with the driver payments, labor cost and insurance. 

For businesses that ship domestically and sometimes internationally, the increase in gas prices have caused an increase in the cost for express as well as ground shipping. Parcel service companies, such as FedEx and UPS, have raised prices in order to offset the cost of jet fuel for their planes and diesel prices for their delivery trucks. 

The corporate and local businesses aren't the only group having to sacrifice or cut back on things due to the increase of gas prices. Consumers all over the country find themselves having to rework their budgets in order to have enough money to last more than just a few days.

However, if one truly stops to think about how long gas prices have been increasing and why, the answer is simple -- since the beginning of the war in Iraq, it seems that gas prices have been on the constant increase with no signs of any decrease in the near to distant future. 

The amount of gasoline used and needed by Americans probably does not even compare to the amount being used in Iraq. With the all the ships, submarines, tanks, planes and other vehicles being used for the war, it's no wonder that prices stateside are so expensive. 

Of course, there will be some who say "it's going towards the greater good of the country." But this war isn't creating good wholesome jobs stateside nor is it helping our economy progress financially. 

What this really boils down to is the cost of crude oil. According to an article on www.howstuffworks.com, 59 percent of the gas prices go to the cost of crude oil. With the cost of each barrel of crude oil going up is the greater possibility of gas prices increasing even more. And if you guess that the vast majority of our crude oil comes from the Middle East you are absolutely correct.

Unfortunately, with the war still blazing forward it doesn't appear that Americans will be able to have a future with lower gas prices. It's been said that we have reserves here in the United States that could be easily used to offset the costs incurred by Americans. 

In fact, in 2000, President Clinton directed the Department of Energy to tap into that reserve in order to keep prices stable. If 30 million barrels of oil could be released then, there should not be a problem with releasing a lesser or equal amount again. Perhaps that is an issue better left to our current president. 

Latimer, a communication/English post-baccalaureate student, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu