Democrats vs. Republicans: Gas Prices of the last 100 years

FROM GASOLINE 2012 The price of gas is a hot topic in this year's election. With both parties pointing the finger at the other, we looked at the average actual price paid for a gallon of gas and the price adjusted for 2012 inflation for every U.S. President in the last 100 years. Here's what we found... TS ONCRANE * VS. + 1913-21 Woodrow Wilson 1921-23 Warren Harding $0-28 GAS PRICE $3.40 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION $0.26 GAS PRICE ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION Notable Events $3.39 1914 World War I - The first conflict that was directly impacted by the control of oil supply 1923-29 Calvin Coolidge 1929-33 Herbert Hoover 1933-45 $0-22 GAS PRICE Franklin D. Roosevelt $0-19 GAS PRICE $2.88 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION Notable Events $2.80 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION 1929 Start of Great Depression $0-19 GAS PRICE Notable Events 1930 East Texas Oilfield discovered $3.06 ADJUSTED FOR 1945-53 INFLATION Harry Truman Notable Events 1939 World War Il - Control of oil supply in the Middle East plays a huge role in the events of the war 1953-61 Dwight Eisenhower $0.25 GAS PRICE $2.51 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION $0-30 GAS PRICE 1961-63 $2.48 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION John F. Kennedy 1963-69 Notable Events Lyndon B. Johnson 1960 OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is formed in Iraq $0-31 GAS PRICE ADJUSTED FOR $0.32 GAS PRICE $2-38 INFLATION $2.26 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION 1969-74 Richard Nixon Notable Events 1974-77 1968 Oil discovered on North Slope of Alaska Gerald Ford 1969 Oil discovered in North Sea 1969 Qaddafi seizes power in Libya S0.36 CAS PRICE 1977-81 $2.08 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION $0-56 GAS PRICE Jimmy Carter Jr. Notable Events 1973 Yom Kippur War - Egypt and Syria attack Israel $2.43 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION Notable Events $0-84 GAS PRICE 1975 Venezuelan oil 1981-89 industry notionalised 1977 Alaska oil pipeline completed Ronald Reagan $2-71 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION Notable Events 1979 Shah of Iran deposed, Ayatollah Khomeini takes 1989-93 George H.W. Bush $1.11 GAS PRICE power 1980 Iran-Iraq war begins $2.49 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION 1993-2001 $1.08 GAS PRICE Bill Clinton Notable Events 1986 41 oil tankers sunk or destroyed during the "Tanker War" between Iran and Iraq $2.87 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION Notable Events $1.16 GAS PRICE 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait - UN embargo on Iraq ADJUSTED FOR $1.70 2001-09 INFLATION Notable Events George W. Bush 1995 UN approves "Oil for Food" program 2009- 1997 Kyoto Agreement proposed to limit greenhouse gases Barack Obama $2.14 GAS PRICE $2.51 ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION $2.88 GAS PRICE Notable Events ADJUSTED FOR 2001 9/11-Terrorists attacks $3.03 INFLATION 2003 U.S. invades Iraq 2005 Hurricane Katrina Notable Events 2007 The E.U. introduces 2010 Deepwater Horizon Rig explosion causes largest oilspill in U.S. history new regulations to reduce GHG emissions 20% by 2020 2011 Unrest in the Middle East creates concern over energy supply Highest Gas Price Avg for Term (FFI)* WOODROW WILSON / $3.40 per gallon Lowest Gas Price Avg for Term (FFI)* BILL CLINTON / $1.70 per gallon *fixed for 2012 inflation What Have We Learned? ...there have been spikes and dips in the * AVG + price of gas over the last 100 years, but AVG + when you look at the average, there $2.63 $2.55 is only a S0.08 difference between Democratic and Republican Presidential terms. Which begs the question... With so little difference in price, why does gas fuel so much political fire? * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2012/04/18the-failure-of-republicans-and-democrats-on-gas-prices/ http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2012/03/14/charting-the-dramatic-gas-price-rise-of-the-last-decade/ http://www.eia.gow/petroleum/gasdiesel I DRIVE SAFELY http://americanhistory.about.com/library/charts/blchartpresidents.htm http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2005/fcvt_fotw364.html http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=D4570 http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Mnflation_Rate/Gasoline_Inflation.asp http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/OiVGasoline_inflation_chart.htm http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ www.idrivesafely.com http://www.geohelp.net/world.html