McConnell: ‘Prices are soaring way faster than workers’ pay growth’

As record-high gasoline prices continue to sweep the state averaging above $4 per gallon, the newest inflation number of 8.5% has impacted prices across the board, hurting American finances. 

The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that, on average, Americans will spend $636 more annually on gasoline today than they this time last year. As of Thursday, the average price per gallon across the country was reported at $4.07.

“The Biden economy continues to set new terrible records. Inflation just hit its fastest pace in more than 40 years. Food, gas, and housing costs are crushing families. Prices are soaring way faster than workers’ pay growth,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in a recent tweet.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis using gas price data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy and average miles driven from MetroMile.com. With this, it tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars.

Americans are spending an average of $914 more per year on gasoline today since the president entered office in January, a number that gasmiseryindex.com calls the “Biden Misery Index."

On April 1, President Biden announced the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next 6 months, in his effort to curb high gas prices. This action has slowly started to bring down pump prices.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. This number has increased nearly 75% when compared to Thursday's national average price of $4.07.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on April 12, for the 12 months ending March 2022. The data showed an 8.5% all items annual increase, which is the largest increase in over 40 years, since 1981. In March, the gasoline index rose 18.3% and accounted for over half of the all items monthly increase.

Biden's latest attempt to bring down inflation includes extending the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline, such as E15, during the summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources. Before being lifted last week, there was a summertime ban over E15 fuel which was imposed over concerns it contributes to smog in hot weather, Reuters reports. The President's new announcement will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15.