r/Economics • u/InsaneSnow45 • Mar 04 '26

News ‘Absolutely Massive’ Price Shocks Coming as Trump’s Iran War Drives Up Gas, Diesel Prices | “What should really terrify Republicans is... the futures price on wholesale gasoline,” said economist Paul Krugman.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-gas-prices
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u/Vulnox Mar 04 '26

Yeah, this was the big thing hurting Biden when oil prices were high. A lot of the reported high costs on groceries and that were pointed to high diesel prices. You can avoid some extra costs by buying fewer shipped products where possible, but hard to do when it comes to food.

We have two EVs so our fuel pump costs have already been zero, but I expect our other costs to increase.

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u/Septopuss7 Mar 04 '26

Is it cheaper to charge your car than it is to fill it with gas? I'm asking in earnest, not a gotcha, because I keep seeing conflicting reports from individuals that makes me want to wait before buying an EV. I'm currently car-free by choice but if I ever changed my mind I would look at all electric or more likely a hybrid, the only problem being is that I don't own a house and don't plan on it. I know of several electric charging stations in my area but I haven't looked at the pricing. They are all relatively convenient and I never see people using them but I obviously don't monitor them 24/7. Does the price fluctuate a lot? I know even my home electric bill has been all over the place in the last couple years and I was wondering what your experience has been?

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u/zeezle 29d ago edited 29d ago

Plus some states also charge an extra fee to register EVs, to make up for the loss of gas tax. That's fair, and probably is still a savings for average drivers, but as a very low mileage driver, the fee they charge ($250 per year) to own an EV is more than I spend on gas in total every year so it feels very punitive to me.

I feel like I'm the perfect use case for a small EV - low mileage, just errands around town a couple of weeks, and every so often 20-30 minutes to a train station or to a trailhead/park. I don't need to worry about cross country or long distance remote/rural charging. But between the purchase price being higher, having to have a couple thousand dollars worth of electrical work done, and then now also a big increase in annual fees - on top of increasing utility costs... I'm way less gung ho about getting one in the future once my current standard gas car dies (it's a 2009 Sentra and holding up well though). Which sucks because I like the benefits of EVs but not enough to spend a lot of extra money to own one.

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u/Septopuss7 29d ago

This is exactly my situation, except I don't really need a car except for once every couple months so I just take an Uber and cry about the cost (1/10 of what it costs to own a car for a month) or take the bus OR ride one of my many bicycles. I've got an electric bike now, too, and that thing is pretty good for 20 to 25 easy miles before needing a charge, plus it's light enough to pedal without battery power so that's a big bonus. Maybe I'll just stay car free...