Did We Get Spoiled? Kalamazoo Gas Prices Are Highest in 7 Years

I don't know why this is a shock, but gas prices spiking in Kalamazoo in the past week to well over $3 ($3.19 the first day of the spike) did just that to me. The way some people are wary of the government or authority figures in general, that's the way it is with me and gas prices and oil companies.

Yes, prices fell down to a buck and a half last summer, as most people were working from home and vacations were cancelled pretty much across the board, and it certainly was unrealistic to expect that to continue. But gas prices are higher than they were in early March of last year. In fact, they're higher than they've been since about 2014.

And folks investing in crude oil futures are expecting to even do better as vaccination rates climb past 70%, which, theoretically, should lead to more driving and more consumption, and yes, even higher prices.

A lot of what makes our gas prices so painful is that the price of West Texas crude is trading at north of $70 a barrel, and it hasn't done that since late 2018, according to AAA.

Meanwhile, here's the part that makes our wallets and pocketbooks hurt the most right now: The big spike last week - Michigan led the nation with a 15 cents spike. That was four cents more than state number 2, Florida.

Here's a future x-factor to all this. Pretty regularly, we're getting yet another announcement of another all-electric vehicle. Everything we read is, manufacturers are all in on all electric. Now I know seeing one Tesla cruising down Gull Road isn't going to lower consumption enough, but eventually, hopefully we won't be so beholden to the oil companies, God Bless 'em.