The Startling Low Price Of Gasoline

 

   Three days ago I filled up the tank of the Prius for less than I would have had to pay in 1980.

   You read that right. Not just less than I would have had to pay in 1980, but extremely less.

   In 1980 the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $1.24. 

   You might look at the photo above and say I am obviously not a math major, as that photo above clearly shows that the unleaded gasoline I put in the Prius three days ago was $1.89 a gallon.

   Well, yeah, but in 1980 minimum wage in the U.S. was $3.10 an hour, and California minimum wage matched it.

   Yes, each state can mandate its own minimum wage. Some were higher (Alaska's minimum wage in 1980 was $3.60) and some were lower (Georgia's minimum wage in 1980 was $1.25).

   Minimum wage was pretty much what I was earning back then, so to fill up the 9.5 gallon tank of the Prius back then I would have had to spend $11.78. Since an 8 hour work day at $3.10 an hour only earned $24.80 (before taxes!), that means I would have had to work for about five hours (after taxes) to earn enough to fill up the tank.

   U.S. National minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, but here in Colorado (my current state of residence - moved out of Cali a long time ago, only crazy people live there) current minimum wage is $14.81 an hour (yes, I earn a bit more than minimum wage, but this argument is based on minimum wage, so there you go). 

   Since filling up the tank of the Prius @ 1.89 a gallon only cost $17.96, at current Colorado minimum wage that means it would only take an hour and a half (after taxes!) to earn enough to fill up the Prius.

   Which means that 45 years after I first started driving, gas is now slightly less than half the price it was back then.

   Now, if we could only get that magical price decreasing formula applied to food, housing and medical care, life would be all rainbows and butterflies.

  BTW, for those interested, the state with highest current minimum hourly wage is Washington @ $16.66, though there are communities in the state of Washington that have a higher minimum hourly wage, such as Burien, which has a $21.16 minimum hourly wage (large employers only). The state with the lowest minimum hourly wage? Technically, Georgia & Wyoming are tied at $5.15, but both of those states default to the National minimum wage of $7.25 (as do all states that set current minimum wage below the National minimum wage).