Spring Break
Pinching pennies not enough for college students
Lauren Collins
Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: Opinion
Not every student is eligible for financial aid to cover books and classes. Out-of-state students can't stay at home with their parents to help save money. Some students buy from value menus, but those trying to eat healthier are often investing extra dollars in food. Many students work jobs for minimum wage or slightly higher while trying to maintain a full class load, making it harder to find the extra 50 cents per gallon for gas.
Though Hurricane Ike has come and gone, we may find ourselves looking in our empty pockets wondering what we can do until the next paycheck comes to make up for the lost cash. With hurricane season lasting from June 1 to Nov. 30, we cannot predict if another hurricane will send gas prices skyrocketing again.
The area affected by Ike supplies 25 percent of the U.S. refining capacity. Because these refineries were shut down before Ike's arrival, panicked gas stations boosted fuel costs. With $5.20 for unleaded reported in Cumming, Georgia and close to $5 per gallon in Tennessee and Florida. We can only hope that we will not face such ridiculous price increases again. Surprisingly, the gas prices in the effected areas of Galveston and Houston only rose by 4.8 cents.
By the end of last week, prices were slowly decreasing. Though pumps in Greenville were presenting lower prices, the stations were limited to supplies of regular unleaded fuels without premium or diesel and vice versa. On Friday consumers could fill up with regular at the BP on Greenville Blvd. and 14th Street at $3.67 per gallon, while competitors' prices lingered at one or two cents above. Upon returning from the ECU-State game this past weekend, it appears fuel costs in Raleigh still top at $3.99 per gallon for regular and average at about $3.85 per gallon in Middlesex.
According to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, approximately 96 percent of major hurricane days occur between August and October. We are not in the clear yet, but Mike Easley's law against price gouging should help protect high prices from affecting motorists in the stormy months to come. There is much debate over whether the price gouging laws are beneficial to consumers, but the panic associated with storms like Ike send people to the pumps regardless of price.
The least these gas stations can do is make fuels available to those of us who are forced to pinch pennies and hold on to our cash. There seems to be endless financial demands on students, and gas prices are simply one extra burden.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Though Hurricane Ike has come and gone, we may find ourselves looking in our empty pockets wondering what we can do until the next paycheck comes to make up for the lost cash. With hurricane season lasting from June 1 to Nov. 30, we cannot predict if another hurricane will send gas prices skyrocketing again.
The area affected by Ike supplies 25 percent of the U.S. refining capacity. Because these refineries were shut down before Ike's arrival, panicked gas stations boosted fuel costs. With $5.20 for unleaded reported in Cumming, Georgia and close to $5 per gallon in Tennessee and Florida. We can only hope that we will not face such ridiculous price increases again. Surprisingly, the gas prices in the effected areas of Galveston and Houston only rose by 4.8 cents.
By the end of last week, prices were slowly decreasing. Though pumps in Greenville were presenting lower prices, the stations were limited to supplies of regular unleaded fuels without premium or diesel and vice versa. On Friday consumers could fill up with regular at the BP on Greenville Blvd. and 14th Street at $3.67 per gallon, while competitors' prices lingered at one or two cents above. Upon returning from the ECU-State game this past weekend, it appears fuel costs in Raleigh still top at $3.99 per gallon for regular and average at about $3.85 per gallon in Middlesex.
According to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, approximately 96 percent of major hurricane days occur between August and October. We are not in the clear yet, but Mike Easley's law against price gouging should help protect high prices from affecting motorists in the stormy months to come. There is much debate over whether the price gouging laws are beneficial to consumers, but the panic associated with storms like Ike send people to the pumps regardless of price.
The least these gas stations can do is make fuels available to those of us who are forced to pinch pennies and hold on to our cash. There seems to be endless financial demands on students, and gas prices are simply one extra burden.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Be the first to comment on this story