Staff Writer
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
Speculators and prognosticators had predicted gas prices would soar to $4 per gallon this summer.
Such predictions seemed prescient earlier this year when gas prices climbed higher and higher up the $3 stratosphere. So high that paying $4 seemed like it would only be a few pennies more per gallon.
Now, with summer here, $4 per gallon seems like it couldn’t be further from the truth ... or maybe that’s more like 80-some cents from the truth.
Gas prices have dropped to about $3, a dime and some pennies per gallon.
Granted, summer has only just begun. Almost anything could cause gas prices to climb again: A hurricane, trouble in the Middle East, a presidential election ...
Yet, doesn’t it seem odd? All we heard for months was how gas prices would reach $4 per gallon by summer. Summer’s here and gas prices have fallen to nearly $3 per gallon.
After months of spending $3.60 and higher, and expecting to pay even more in the future, isn’t it a relief to see gas signs proclaim gas costs only $3 and some change per gallon? Seeing those signs, it’s tempting to sigh and think, Whew, we dodged that one ...
Until, you really think about it. We’re still paying more than $3 per gallon.
We’re probably not supposed to think about that, not too closely, anyway. A little more than $3 per gallon sure beats a little more than $4 per gallon. And it does.
But is a little more than $3 a gallon really better than the price we paid prior to the latest surge and the $4 prediction? Or does it feel better because it’s not as painful as we thought it might be?
