Commentary - Noodling On The Cost Of A Gallon Of Gas (And A Gallon Of Milk)

By Rick Carlton

Austin, Nov. 27, 2012: With the price of a gallon of gas/diesel holding in the high $3, to the high $4 nationally for the last six months, a 'new normal' appears to have reached some kind of 'balance' when it comes to gas prices.

For the consumer, however, and regardless of the US Treasury's assertions that inflation is minimal (and in someway not related to the cost of fuel), perhaps the political elite in DC should actually go to the grocery and buy a gallon of milk, as opposed to simply telling an ever more wingy America to 'stay calm, everything is under control.'

Granted OPEC has, and continues, to wag our dog pretty actively, but even more than the fossil-fuel Mullahs, our own Government has been rolling us in the hay for decades, driven by overwrought environmental interests, and Liberal Federal/State politicians who never saw a fuel tax they didn't love.

To make the point take a look at the following map provided by Gas Buddy:

Truth be told, the cost of a gallon of milk is directly related to the cost of delivery, because any time transportation costs are increased, those hikes are added to prices associated with products resident on the shelf. So, the next time you 'vote' for a fuel tax 'tariff', or for an administration that doesn't understand (or care about) the consumer's 'cost of a gallon of milk,' be prepared for another round of hidden costs to hit us in the pocketbook. As the old saying opines, 'Elections create consequences.'