Why Are We Paying More at the Pump? “In times of thin cows, not only do meat prices go up, but so do people’s taste for beef.”

news.ncmonline.com Eastern Group Publications, Ingrid Maida, Mar 17, 2003

There is a saying in Spanish that goes “In times of thin cows, not only do meat prices go up, but so do people’s taste for beef.” The same trend appears to be happening with gasoline.

“If something has increased besides gas prices, it is gasoline sales,” says Ignacio Pilar, an Arco gas station attendant in Boyle Heights. “I don’t know why, but when the prices skyrocket, people buy more gas.”

As the American economy suffers through ever more serious woes and as gas prices break new records across the country, it is becoming more and more difficult to understand this phenomenon.

“It’s not that people are buying more, but what is happening is that the same amount of money buys you less gas,” affirms Jorge Perez, a Mexican immigrant. “Before I could fill up my tank with $20, now I need $40.”

Lester Garcia, a student who also works full time, assured this reporter he is buying the same amounts of gas now than he usually does. “Actually, I’d like to reduce my gas consumption, but I have to get to school and work. You have to do what you have to do, no matter how high the prices go.”

Despite his assurances, many gas stations are beginning to see not only an increase in profits, but also in the amount of gas they sell.

“We’ve tripled our sales,” says Agustin Campero, an Exxon gas station manager in Huntington Park. “Before we used to sell about four thousand gallons a day, but now we’re selling between 10,000 and 12,000 per day.”

It’s not entirely clear why that is, he explained. He speculated that the high gas prices have forced drivers to seek out gas stations with the lowest prices, thereby increasing sales at those places.

“Our sales our down by 25 percent,” said Nassim Hassen, a manager of a Shell gas station on the corner of Olympic and Soto streets. “I know our prices are a little bit more expensive than at other places, but we get our prices from the owners and we have to do what they tell us.”

Luckily for Nassim, however, most drivers interviewed said they usually buy their gas at the same place and don’t necessarily go where gas is cheapest.

“I always buy at Shell, though it’s higher here,” said Chilo Neri, who works in a clothing store. Ernestine Allen says the same thing. “I go to the 76 Station, though it’s a few cents more expensive.”

Well for some people it may just be a few cents more or less, it is evident that higher gas prices are harming many members of the local community.

“Sometimes I can’t scrape up enough money to put gas in the tank, so I walk or take the bus,” said Ramon Padilla as he put $5 worth of gas into his car.

Antonia Gutierrez, a mother of four from the state of Jalisco, Mexico, is upset over the increase in prices. “Latinos are always in worse shape because we earn less money and now we have to spend more,” she said.

According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, gas prices in California are breaking new records. “The last record was on May 15, 2001, when prices shot up to an average of $2.03,” said Paul Gonzales, an Auto Club spokesman.

Today, the average price is well above $2 in California. According to economic analysts, the threats of war, the strikes in Venezuela and the severe winter in the East Coast are the principle villains of the high prices. However, the majority of drivers blamed the imminent war for having to pay more at the pump.

“This imperialist government and this president who want to start a war in Iraq and ruin us here are to blame,” said an angry Juan Jose, a construction worker. But not everyone agrees.

“Everyone says high gas prices are due to the threats of the war, but they’re not. The oil companies are gouging us, pure and simple,” said Fernando Antezana. “There is no shortage of petroleum.”

Whatever the real causes may be, today most people’s pockets are being emptied at the pump while other people’s pockets are being filled, with the certainty on both sides of the gas pump that it’s strictly a temporary situation.

“Every year they find an excuse to raise gas prices because they know people need it and have no other choice but to buy it,” said Campero. “These are cycles of the market that take advantage of things like a war or events like September 11 in order to raise prices, but eventually they have to come back down again.”