$2.287

What’s $2.287 you ask? That’s what a gallon of 1976 Oil Crisis gas would cost today factoring inflation. Yes, that’s right, gas was over a dollar per gallon CHEAPER during the embargo 30 years ago than it was during this “supply” problem today. You know the supply problem that somehow managed to earn the oil companies record profits? That one

Some of you rocket scientists want to explain Supply And Demand 101 to me again? Feel a little foolish do we? I understand, you won’t admit I was right, ill forgive you if you apologize nicely (and you guys know who you are)

Story here: Link
Thread where Skippy was “schooled” in supply and demand 101 here: Link

…using inflation data from InflationData.com and Gas Price data from the Energy Information Administration, here are the average U.S. prices for a gallon of unleaded gasoline, for each year since 1976, in 2005 dollars:

1976 $1.391
1977 $1.447
1978 $1.427
1979 $1.822
1980 $2.342
1981 $2.450
1982 $2.224
1983 $2.090
1984 $1.987
1985 $1.930
1986 $1.471
1987 $1.469
1988 $1.428
1989 $1.491
1990 $1.638
1991 $1.555
1992 $1.504
1993 $1.445
1994 $1.422
1995 $1.434
1996 $1.503
1997 $1.478
1998 $1.252
1999 $1.352
2000 $1.701
2001 $1.604
2002 $1.470
2003 $1.686
2004 $1.941
2005 $2.287

Highest price in 2005 dollars? The year 1981, when the average price was $1.378 in 1981 dollars, but when adjusted for inflation is $2.450 in 2005 dollars.

So let’s summarize the FACTS:
- We paid over $3.30 per gallon of gas this past year on average.
- The reason given was “weak oil futures” (supply)
- OPEC back pedaled in recent months on those futures
- Oil and Gas companies are recording record profits based on those futures
- We have paid over $1.00 per gallon MORE than the oil shortage caused by a fuel embargo during the 1976 crisis. (The biggest oil crisis in USA history)


Mmmm…

(you “101’ers” can U2U your apologies if you’d like)

This thread is just plain wrong, and you thought Bush used fuzzy math silly.


Here are my results from an inflation calculator.

www.westegg.com...

What cost $1.391 in 1976 would cost $4.78 in 2005.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1976,
they would cost you $1.391 and $0.41 respectively.

The pre-1975 data are the Consumer Price Index statistics from Historical Statistics of the United States (USGPO, 1975). All data since then are from the annual Statistical Abstracts of the United States.


Want to try again?

Do you want to do another calculation?



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Part of the data my source uses is directly from the government. Your source is ambiguous at best.

Sorry, buy my posted data is more official than that site you quoted.


So, just because you think your big brother can beat my big brother does not in fact make my thread "plain wrong"

Originally posted by skippytjc
Part of the data my source uses is directly from the government. Your source is ambiguous at best.

Sorry, buy my posted data is more official than that site you quoted.


So, just because you think your big brother can beat my big brother does not in fact make my thread "plain wrong"

Two things are wrong here.

One, you guys are talking apples and oranges. The price list above in this thread is using inflation adjusted dollars. Gas did not cost $1.39 in 1976, doing a little research, I show gas prices in the low 60 cents range for 1976, this calculates to about $2.05 a gallon in today's dollars, using inflationdata.com's inflation calculator. There was a dramatic upswing in prices under the Carter administration and early Reagan administration that raised gas prices to around $1.40 per gallon in 1981 (roughly $3.06 per gallon in 2k5 dollars, again using inflationdata.com's inflation calculator). Notice that these values are higher than what are quoted above in this thread, those numbers are off according to www.inflationdata.com, which is the source quoted in this very article, I will post the graph from that site at the bottom of this post.

Second, It's not accurate to compare a peak gas value (Sept 2k5) to an average yearly gas price (which is what the 1976 value is). According to the DoE,( www.eia.doe.gov... p/mogas_history.html average gas price for 2k5 so far is $2.1975 per gallon, which is indeed very close to the 1976 value, but significantly below the 1981 value.

Finally, here is the graph I referred to above, from www.inflationdata.com.



Conclusion? The numbers are indeed fudged in this analysis. Numbers from the very source it references are dramatically different. Also, they are comparing a peak price to a yearly average price which is flawed.

Highest price in 2005 dollars? The year 1981, when the average price was $1.378 in 1981 dollars, but when adjusted for inflation is $2.450 in 2005 dollars.

Way off, this graph is from where the article was supposedly sourced, and it shows 1981 gas at close to $3 in 2k5 dollars.

So let’s summarize the FACTS:
- We paid over $3.30 per gallon of gas this past year on average.

Wrong, average gas price for 2k5 so far is $2.1975, it PEAKED at $3.069 on Sept. 5th.