NEW YORK - It's Memorial Day weekend and our national obsession with the price of gasoline is in focus once again.
Our rants about gasoline and the oil industry may not always be based on facts, but one thing is undeniable: Americans are obsessed with the price of gasoline. More than any other good or service we buy.
We're reminded of the price every time we pass a gas station and see those huge, numbered signs. We buy gas every week, unlike bills we pay monthly or a couple times a year. Milk is $4 a gallon, but we buy only one. When we fill up with gas, we spend $50 or more.
Cheap gas makes the wide open spaces of America seem full of possibility and adventure. When it's expensive, we think twice before setting out.
"Driving is a symbol of freedom in the U.S.," says Shanjun Li, an economist who studies consumer behavior at Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics.
Publication information: Article title: In the U.S., Griping about Gas Prices Is the Norm. Contributors: Fahey, Jonathan - Author. Newspaper title: The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV). Publication date: May 28, 2012. Page number: 6A. © Charleston Newspapers. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.