Washington – More people are feeling that record-high gas prices soon will have their wallets running on empty.
Almost two-thirds of those surveyed for an AP-AOL poll expect fuel costs to cause them financial hardship in coming months. That’s sharply higher than in April, when about half felt that way.
“I filled up last Monday, and it cost me $53,” said Gary Spaulding of Fulton, N.Y., referring to his Ford Explorer. “One of the cars, we’re going to get rid of. We can’t afford both of them.”
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is more than $2.40 per gallon, compared with $1.86 a year ago and about $2.21 in April, according to the auto club AAA.
And costs are expected to keep rising: Prices for crude oil reached a record of more than $66 a barrel Friday. That’s almost 50 percent higher than a year ago.
The poll conducted last week for The Associated Press and AOL News found that 64 percent say gas prices will cause money problems for them in the next six months. In April, 51 percent expressed such concerns.
Those most likely to be worried are people with low incomes, the unemployed and minorities. However, the level of concern was rising fastest among women, retirees, married people and those living in the suburbs.
Filling up with regular gas for the driver of a subcompact with a 12-gallon tank has increased from just over $22 a year ago to more than $28 now. Filling up with premium gas for the driver of an SUV or a big truck with a 20-gallon tank has increased from $60 a year ago to $78 now.
When asked whom they blame most for the rise in gas prices, people were most inclined to blame the oil companies, followed closely by politicians and countries that produce oil.
David Svoboda, who lives near Steubenville, Ohio, said Americans looking to blame someone need to look in the mirror.
“We’re not doing enough ourselves – buying the big SUVs. … We don’t seem to care,” he said.
