Gallup is out with a new survey today indicating that 42% of Americans consider the “energy situation” to be “very serious.” Presumably the “situation” is whether or not there’s enough, not how much it costs, because half of those polled believe the US is “likely to face a critical energy shortage in the next five years.”
But what Americans really mean, of course, is that gasoline costs too much:
Americans’ views about the seriousness of the energy situation over the next several months are likely going to be determined by the trajectory of gas prices — which typically rise in the spring and summer months before falling in the late summer and fall — as well as whether gas prices surpass the record high set in 2008.
Another Gallup poll published last week showed that 7% of those surveyed said that gas prices are “the most important problem facing this country today.” That’s up from just 1% in February.
A more interesting question might be, “What can the President/Congress/Big Oil do about it?”
Paul Ausick
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