Sawt Falasteen - At gas stations, Americans say they're 'paying the price' of Iran war

Jeanne Williams, 83, had just driven 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Richmond, Virginia, where she was visiting her elder sister.

"That is horrible," she said, stunned by the prices visible on the Liberty gas station's LED board.

"I'm not angry. I'm just bewildered, confused, unhappy," she said. "Because we didn't ask for the war."

On Tuesday, the average US price of a gallon (3.78 liters) of regular gasoline crossed the psychological barrier of $4.00, having increased 35 percent since the US-Israeli strikes that launched the conflict, according to data from the AAA motor club.

The station where Williams stopped is situated along a busy road in the city of Falls Church, nestled between an Anglican church, an auto repair shop and a dentist's office.

Prices there started at $3.79 per gallon -- provided you pay in cash. Rates are higher if you use debit or credit cards. A little further down the road, the rate was as high as $4.25 per gallon.

Williams, a retired civil servant who is undergoing cancer treatment, considers her pension to be "fairly decent," but as the US cost of living has risen, she has had to dip into her savings.

"Luckily, I have no children. I don't have a spouse, so it's just me and whatever I have I help my sister with."

- 'Ridiculous' -

US inflation has reduced from a peak of 9.1 percent in the pandemic, but prices have remained stubbornly high and analysts warn the world's largest economy has still not achieved price stability.

The years of higher-than-expected prices have battered US households.

Eliza Winger, a US economist with Bloomberg, said that an increase in fuel prices does not just hit people at the pump, it also reduces their overall consumption -- with possible knock-on effects for the economy.

"We estimate that 10 percent increase in oil prices reduces real consumer spending by approximately 0.2 percent," she said. US fuel prices have increased by more than three times that amount since the start of the war.

And on Tuesday, a new US consumer confidence report showed that people's inflation expectations had surged in March to levels last seen around seven months ago.

Luis Ramos, a 26-year-old New York City resident, told AFP he was already feeling battered by the high cost of living.

"It's ridiculous, honestly. Seeing these gas prices skyrocket, it's incredible," he said at a gas station in New Jersey. "The cost of living is already skyrocketing."

- 'Should have cared' -

David Lee, a 39-year-old at the suburban gas station outside Washington, fills up his tank twice a week.

"I feel like every time I fill it up, I probably filling up at least $10 more than what I used to pay," he told AFP.

The anesthesiologist said he made enough to afford it, "but I've seen a lot of my friends complaining about it that they're not gonna drive as much as they used to."

Joseph Crouch, 77, finds himself in that situation.

"It's ridiculous," he said, lamenting how he has had to cut down on driving. "The prices are so high. I don't think government is knowing what it's doing."

"We are paying the price" of the war, he said. "They trying to say it's something else, but it's definitely a war."

Crouch, who walks with the aid of a cane, proudly wore a hat proclaiming that he was a veteran of the Vietnam war.

Fred Koester, 78, called the conflict a "stupid war" that was "totally unnecessary."

Kristen, a 36-year-old teacher who only gave her first name, said that while the fuel prices hurt, it was "selfish" of people to complain about the war only when it affects their household budgets.

"We should have cared long before it affects our pocket," she said.

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST