Gas Bag

Back in May, when the average nationwide price for a gallon of gas was $3.94 and Santa Clarita residents were paying north of $4 per gallon, professional bloviator Buck McKeon blamed Democrats for the rise in prices.

Now that gas prices in Santa Clarita are below $2 again, will McKeon give Democrats credit?

Fat chance.

As reported in the The Signal (5/29/08):

Under the Democrat plan, McKeon stated that gas prices would only be cut five cents.

But McKeon claimed he had a better idea:

The plan, which calls for bringing deepwater oil drilling online and onshore oil drilling online in Alaska, building new refineries and cutting earmarks to fund the gas tax holiday, would lower gas prices by at least $1.98 per gallon.

In truth, neither plan went into effect, and yet gas prices were cut in half.

Hmm.

If Democrats can't take the credit for falling gas prices, then maybe they shouldn't get the blame for rising gas prices.

The senior congressman did, however, make an interesting historical comparison:

"When I was young, I paid 25 cents per gallon for gas," McKeon said.

Okay, Buck, we get it. You're really, really old.

Buck McKeon was born in 1938. So he would have started buying gas as a teenager in the mid 1950s. And indeed, the average gas price in the 1950s was 29 cents per gallon.

How much is that in inflation-adjusted dollars? $2.17 per gallon.

How much is gasoline in Santa Clarita today? $1.89 per gallon.

Wow. In the last fifty years, inflation-adjusted gas prices have dropped nearly 30 cents per gallon.

So if, as Buck McKeon implies, Democrats are responsible for gas prices, then Democrats rock!