Gasoline prices have recently hit almost $2.00 per gallon across the United States. For a consumer culture that drives gas guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs), that $2.00 price tag makes many people believe that prices are at an all-time high. These recent price spikes have led to renewed calls for government regulation.

While the mass media is out to tell you the same story over and over, that gas prices are too high -- especially for labor day when Americans traditionally set the yearly record for travel by car -- the reality is that gas prices are nowhere near record levels. When adjusted for inflation, 1981 set the most recent record at $1.35 which is $2.69 adjusted to year 2000 prices (the most recent year for which numbers are easily available). In fact, the all-time high was set in 1918, which would be $3.00 per gallon in 2000 prices, and prices have been falling ever-since. For the "official" industry numbers visit the pro-Petrol American Petroleum Institute, and download this PDF.

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