Seven Bucks A Gallon For Gas?
CBS
Transcript
Wall Street started the day down and kept falling the DOW Industrials lost 358 points and sank to their lowest level in nearly two years meanwhile the NASDAQ fell 79 as stocks went down oil went way up it passed the $140 a barrel Mark before closing just under that still closing though up more than $5 and a new Energy report predicts $200 a barrel oil in 2 years now if that happens gas would likely go up to $7 a gallon and that would have an enormous impact on the way we live priia David looks at how gas prices already are affecting Americans at home and on the job this in an 8 hour day absorbs about 10 gallons of gas Mitchell aguelo in Miami complains Rising gas prices are threatening his 20-year-old landscaping business his two biggest trucks sit idle he can't afford to fill them up right now igel's business averages $30,000 a month in gas at $7 a gallon that would jump to about 50,000 a month I think at that time I think I'm going to put a sign gone fishing Economist Jeff Rubin predicts the $7 Mark will arrive by the year 2010 hardest hit those making under $225,000 a year their gas bill will go from 7% of their income to a whopping 20% people are going to be spending more on gasoline than they spend on groceries and that's not a sustainable choice in fact by by 2012 higher prices could send an additional 10 million Vehicles off the road it would certainly ease congestion having that many cars come off the road would be like permanently parking twice as many cars as there are in the state of New Jersey some look to Europe for solutions to the skyrocketing gas prices they drive nice little cars which maybe we should start doing expensive gasoline has led Europeans to also Drive less than we do in America over 90% of all households commute to work by car compare that to just 60% of British households people's entire mindset as to what kind of vehicles they drive where they live uh choices they make on on holidays and and and vacations uh are going to be quite different for Mitchell aguelo $4 gas is trimming his profits but seven bucks a gallon would be a knockout blow Pria David CBS News New York