It turns out that the price of gasoline in the United States may determine the fate of American democracy. Following the introduction of sanctions on Russia, many developed countries saw a surge in energy costs. The price of gasoline has recently been on the rise in the United States. This may lead to a deterioration in Democrats’ prospects ahead of the midterm election, experts suggested.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman evaluated the effect of the recent rise in gasoline prices on American democracy in an article for The New York Times. He analyzed the correlation between higher prices and Democrats’ chances to win the midterm election. “Earlier this year, when gas reached an average of $5 a gallon, everything seemed to point to a Republican blowout,” Krugman wrote. However, with gas prices down by mid-September, “the election looked much more competitive.”
Krugman made three important points about gasoline prices. “First, the most important determinant of prices at the pump is the world price of crude oil. Second, smaller fluctuations are usually driven by technical issues at refineries and have nothing to do with politics. Finally, gas isn’t expensive compared with the fairly recent past,” the expert pinpointed.
