The gas prices on Nov. 14 at the Marathon gas station at the corner of 116th St and Brooks School Rd. Photo by Ben Rosen.
On the rise
People are paying more at gas pump, in grocery store
Ben Rosen
A
rosenben000@hsestudents.org
ccording to Seeking Alpha, the pandemic has caused the value of the dollar to decline starting in March 2020. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Dollar Index did show an increase in value of the dollar for July 2020 and then a decline in November 2020 that has remained consistent except for an increase in March 2021. Regular gas prices have a national average of $3.42 a gallon and $3.40 a gallon average in the state of Indiana as of Nov. 15 according to Triple AAA Insurance. For comparison, according to The U.S. Department of Energy, the national average gas price was $2.59 per gallon in the month of February. Major product categories saw a 0.4% price increase, with the energy category seeing the largest increase of any major product category with a 24.8% increase in prices. According to Trading Economics, the U.S. inflation rate was 5.4% in the month of September, a 13-year high. For comparison, the inflation rate was 1.7% in the month of
Features
February, according to Trading Economics. “Inflation is based on the Consumer Price Index, which is the average cost of a basket of market goods and services that are pre-determined by the economic folks of our government,” math teacher John Carpenter said. “As those costs increase, the Consumer Price Index increases, then they are able to determine the rate of inflation.” Carpenter explained how the rate of inflation can change the value and purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. “When there’s inflation, a dollar will purchase less,” Carpenter said. “Therefore, more dollars are needed to purchase a certain amount.” Junior Thomas Chaplain said that inflation and the rate that it is increasing could be a sign of economic issues to come. “I think the recent skyrocketing inflation is a worrying sign from the economy,” Chaplain said. “Yet, little is being done about it.” Chaplain thinks the problem starts at the top of the
government with President Biden and his leadership and the failure of Congress to address the problem so far knowing the potential economic consequences. “There is a lack of leadership on the national level. As a result, this issue is not being properly addressed and there could be serious consequences,” Chaplain said. Government teacher Brian Grismore shared how he feels that inflation has and will impact his family. “I think the price of food is going to go up,” Grismore said. “We eat a lot so that would definitely have an impact on our budget.” Grismore also said that whether or not people are getting a wage increase will play a large role in how much they are affected by inflation and rising prices. “I think especially if people’s incomes are not going up will be the most impacted,” Grismore said. “People are going to have to choose between going further in debt or really cutting back on their spending.”
Tiger Times
Page 5
