Gas Prices Spell Open Warfare on Idaho's Way of Life

How much longer can you shoulder this before you break? These are signs posted at a couple of gas stations on Kimberly Road in Twin Falls. While the national average for a gallon has eased somewhat over the last week, we haven’t seen the benefit locally. As one of my coworkers reported this week, Idaho is among the highest prices in the nation. In the top 10! When I first moved to Twin Falls, the cost for a gallon of regular-grade was under $1.50. It was the beginning of 2015 and I had driven across the country and it was among the lowest costs I had seen.

Once upon a time! Picture by Bill Colley.

If you want to destroy a way of life for the American people, then we’re off to a roaring start. It’s especially cruel in places like Idaho, where distances between work and home are often vast. As a group, we’re also not wealthy people. There’s a line from an old economist named Robert Samuelson. Countries go broke slowly and then all at once. I’m worried we’ve reached the end of the prophecy.

We’re into hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. A major storm similar to Katrina in 2005 could take many refineries offline for weeks or months. Or how about the Iranians mine the Strait of Hormuz or we get a combination of both. Joe Biden has already drawn down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by a significant margin.

We’re one disaster from a national calamity. Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We aren’t prepared and obviously, our government has no plan B.

The proposed federal gas tax holiday is a Band-Aid for a hemorrhage.

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