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Oil Addiction Has Never Been More Expensive . . . for Most of Us.

Hours we work to pay for 15 gallons of gasoline.

Americans are falling behind -- most of us anyway. We're working longer than ever before to maintain a standard of living that once we took for granted. With respect to gas prices, average Americans are much worse off than they were in 1970.

The working poor, in particular, are getting crushed. Their economic standing has deteriorated even faster than the middle class. A full day's work at the federal minimum wage won't even pay for a single tank of gas. In a car-dependent nation, that means that even basic transportation is quickly getting out of reach for low-income families.

Read the full post here.  

See Also: How has the ability of the middle class to buy gasoline changed over time?

 

Publication date: 2008 | Topic(s): Economy Energy & Climate | Graphic type: Chart
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