Coyote Chronicle CSUSB

The Independent Student Voice of CSUSB Since 1965

Gas prices burn holes in students pockets

by 67 Comments

By Tom Stillwagon |Staff Writer|

The price of gas has likely gone up in your town again this past week. You aren’t alone; the entire nation is facing this dilemma.

Gas prices are currently averaging $4.35 per gallon in San Bernardino for regular unleaded. This is up from a national average of $3.27 in December 2011.

Students are feeling the extra burden on their wallets. Justin Lamb, student commuter from Riverside, is no exception.

“My mom, she would give me some gas money each week,” said Lamb. “It used to last me all week, like 15 or 20 bucks, I could get through a week, week and a half. Now gas is like $4.30 everywhere you go. I can’t even go four or five days driving back and forth to school, you know. It sucks.”

Student Ashley Carter acknowledges that the gas prices have caused her grief.

“Within a week it jumped like 50 cents where I get gas,” said Carter. “I don’t make much money, so I don’t get to spend it on things that I want to spend it on. It’s going straight to bills and that’s about it. I have no leftover money. It’s gone [too] fast.”

Carter, who also lives in Riverside, presumes that most students are hit by the increase in gas prices, given that CSUSB is largely a commuter school.

“I hear other people drive out from Perris, Palm Springs and Victorville too,” she said.

For the students that do live close by, there are alternatives. They can save on gas by riding a bike to school, or walking. San Bernardino and Riverside counties also have public transportation options.

Omnitrans buses in San Bernardino cover San Bernardino, Chino, Colton, Fontana, Loma Linda, Montclair, Ontario, Redlands, Rialto and Rancho Cucamonga, among others. They offer free rides all year to any CSUSB students carrying a valid student ID.

With the price of gasoline in a continuous state of flux, many Americans begin to question why this is happening.

Bernie Sanders is the longest serving independent member of congress representing Vermont. In a statement released by CNN, Sanders said Americans are wrong about their assumptions that supply and demand are the problem.

“The supply of oil and gasoline is higher today than it was three years ago when the national average for a gallon of gasoline was just $1.90,” said Sanders. “The demand for oil in the U.S. is at its lowest level since April of 1997. The culprit is Wall Street.”

The role of the Wall Street speculator comes into play.

“Oil speculators… speculate the price of oil based on incoming information such as increased demand in China and a possible war in Iran,” according to journalist Amanda Melodini of Investhelp.com.

The more uncertainty there is the higher the price of oil will be based on their predictions. However, because these speculators have an incentive to see higher oil prices they over-speculate costing you as much as $750 per year at the pump.”

Reader Interactions

Comments

  49. Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly
    useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and help others like you helped me.

    Reply

  51. Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend
    your site, how can i subscribe for a blog site?
    The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea

    Reply

  53. 467792 430982Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in truth used to be a amusement account it. Glance complex to far more added agreeable from you! Nonetheless, how could we be in contact? 857534

    Reply

  54. Every weekend i used to go to see this site,
    for the reason that i wish for enjoyment, as this this website conations genuinely good funny information too.

    Reply

  55. Howdy would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing?
    I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
    Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a fair price?
    Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

    Reply

  56. I don’t even know the way I stopped up right here, however I
    believed this publish used to be great. I do not recognise who you’re
    however certainly you’re going to a famous blogger in case you aren’t already.
    Cheers!

    Reply

  59. It is actually a great and useful piece of information.
    I’m happy that you just shared this helpful information with
    us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  60. Hi there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and
    let you know a few of the images aren’t loading properly.
    I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.

    Reply

  61. Great web site you have here.. It’s difficult to
    find excellent writing like yours nowadays.
    I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

    Reply

  63. It’s nearly impossible to find knowledgeable people for
    this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
    Thanks

    Reply

  65. 104743 554637You produced some decent points there. I looked on-line for any difficulty and discovered most individuals will go in conjunction with along with your internet site. 40188

    Reply

  67. 390834 567182Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So good to search out any individual with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this web site is one thing thats wanted on the web, somebody with a bit of originality. helpful job for bringing something new towards the internet! 367895

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.