Gas prices just keep on rising

I fill up once a week here in Orlando. Today I hit $50 for a tank of gas. I haven't paid that much since Katrina back in 2005. I paid $2.69/gallon at a local Walmart (the morning rush hour picture to the right is another gas station on the way to work). That was with their 3 cent discount because I purchased it with a Walmart credit card. Add in my daughter and wife, and my family will easily pay $400/month (or more) in gas prices. That's a stiff driving penalty.

What's worse is that the price is 20 cents higher than what I paid last week at the same station. With the tension over Iran's nuclear program and problems in Iraq and Nigeria, speculation in the futures markets are driving the cost of oil and gas right through the roof. A talking head on NPR stated he wouldn't be surprised it if kept right on going through the $3 mark and added another dollar to the price.

Four dollar gas. I wonder how long the Republicans can hang onto power at that price level. And I wonder how long we can continue to fund two wars overseas: the war in Afganistan as well as the war in Iraq. Let alone afford to live our American Way of Life. We are headed for a very rude economic awakening.