I am writing in response to the article titled " An oil shock is coming, but the U.S may have already paid for it ," by Howard Schneider/Reuters, published on March 10.
This article states that although Americans may be paying higher gas prices this year, we shouldn't feel much of a sting due to the safety net of federal funding dispersed during the pandemic.
While it is true that the pandemic relief money was able to benefit most Americans, it is unfair to assume that the citizens of America were able to pocket that money for a rainy day. During COVID relief efforts, Americans depended on that money for various things, including childcare for their children if they were displaced from school due to distance learning while parents had to work, to cover the financial burden of being laid off due to shutdowns, and offsetting the rising costs at grocery stores. Medical bills from being hospitalized from COVID and funeral expenses for loved ones who perished because of the virus are also considerations for where that money would have been spent.
This article does an excellent job of assessing the future of gas prices related to the Ukraine war. However, it is unreasonable to think Americans will still not be affected by these rising costs. Just when the pandemic seems to be behind us a bit, and people are starting to come around again, retaking family vacations and such, the rising gas prices will undoubtedly affect that. In the future, it would be nice to see a more sensitive consideration to how people may or may not have used their finances during economic hardship.
