Lies, Damned Lies and Gas Prices

Republicans (including Mitt Romney during his acceptance speech) are fond of pointing out that gas prices "have nearly doubled" since Obama took office. While literally true, this is very misleading. After reaching more than $4.30 a gallon in the summer of 2008 due to a bubble in the petroleum markets, oil & gas prices crashed, dropping below $2 a gallon in January '09. (BTW, they never mention that the stock market is UP more then 60 percent since Obama took office).

I can offer a reality check on this. I have been keeping a spreadsheet for more than 10 years tracking my gas purchases & mileage. This is real data of what my wife & I have paid for gas at the pump over all this time in Washington & other states on or near the West Coast.

Let's start with this. Over August 2012 I've paid $3.57-$4.05 at the pump. In August 2008 that range was $3.81-$4.02. So when someone says gas has doubled since "four years ago" they are literally mistaken. Gas prices for August 2008 were in the same ballpark.

Another comparison would be the average of the inauguration month through the August prior to the election. Here's what I have:

Average price of gas for Bush's 2nd term through August 2008: $2.91
Average price of gas for Obama's term through August 2012: $3.33

So while gas prices have indeed increased under Obama, anyone describing a 15% increase as "nearly doubled" needs some remedial math.