Gasoline prices have risen in the aftermath of civil unrest in the Middle East, affecting the entire nation severely. The price of airline tickets has nearly doubled just in time for Spring Break, and everyone is hurting at the pump.
One of the most affected groups is teenagers. Most teenagers have little income outside of a minimum wage job and allowance from their parents, and with costs upwards of $60 to fill up the tank, most can’t afford it.
“I can’t do things on the weekend because my parents pay for my gas,” Jared Nordman, senior, said, “and then they don’t have money for me to spend.”
Even students that have a job have to put a stop on spending.
“I have to budget,” Kaylee Adams, senior, said, “because I only work two days a week, so I have to be careful not to blow all my money with friends.”
Some MacArthur students are thinking of ways to save gas and money.
“I use all my gas before I get more,” Trevor Stokes, junior, said.
Others are just thinking about not driving anywhere.
“It makes me want to get a bicycle,” Zaenul Ali, junior, said.
Although most of the U.S.’s oil comes from Mexico and Canada, the crisis in Libya is driving up gas prices because other countries, which bought oil from Libya, need to import from other sources. Additionally, as unrest in the Middle East spreads, it fuels speculation and panic that drives up oil prices even more.
With no quick end to the instability in the Middle East in sight, gas prices will keep rising into the summer, and maybe beyond.
