Georgians continue to struggle at the pumps

(The Center Square) — Portia Effinger has seen firsthand the difficult choices some Georgians have to make when faced with high gas prices.

"It is very difficult, and it's mind-boggling," Effinger said as she filled up her car at a Chevron Station on N. Peachtree Road off Interstate 285 in Dunwoody last week. "I work in public service, and so it's very heart-wrenching when you hear someone say they have to choose between putting gas in their car, paying their car payment versus putting food on their table. It's upsetting."

On this particular day, the gas prices were mind-boggling — in a good way, if that's possible. Motorists paid $2.389 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, well below the state and national averages, thanks to a promotion sponsored by Americans for Prosperity-Georgia.

"It's been rising over time," Effinger said. "I remember there was a time when I was younger; it was a dollar. And it's always going up. The cost of living doesn't help."

While gas prices in Georgia dropped slightly over the weekend, they remain significantly higher than several years ago. To make its point, AFP-GA opted to lower gas prices to the national average for a gallon of gas when President Joe Biden took office.

"I think that oftentimes people use gas prices as a barometer to gauge how the economy is doing," AFP-GA Grassroots Engagement Director Logan Fletcher told The Center Square.

"And when inflation is impacting everything from food at the grocery store to supplies at the hardware store, sometimes those are things you don't see on a daily basis," Fletcher added. "People always have to fill up their car, and that's always going to be something that they think about in their daily lives."

According to gas price data from AAA, as of Monday, Georgia's gas price average was $3.338 per gallon, below the national average of $3.501 per gallon. Georgia's average is down slightly from $3.361 per gallon a year ago and $4.499 per gallon in mid-June 2022, but up from $2.33 per gallon in mid-February 2021, AAA's data shows.

However, the direction of gas prices seems uncertain.

"The drop in gas prices over the weekend was a welcome relief to Georgians," Montrae Waiters, a spokeswoman for AAA-The Auto Club Group, said in a statement. "Crude oil prices, which play a key role in determining what consumers pay at the pump continue to fluctuate, and demand is down, which assists in lowering prices at the pumps. Unfortunately, we cannot predict if gas prices will rise again this week."