Gasoline Prices: Is $4.00 a Gallon Good or Bad for America? World economies have experienced a decline in oil and gas prices since the end of 2014. Along with the economic crisis After the repercussions we are facing in 2016 due to falling prices, economic analysts are faced with a question : Is $4 a gallon of gas good or bad for America? In the past, Americans have had to deal with the effects and financial burden of high gas prices that have sometimes hovered in the upper three-dollar range and even exceeded four dollars a gallon. Based on the past impact of these high gas prices and the cascading effect they have caused, I believe that four dollars a gallon of gas is overall bad for America. This research paper aims to examine the effects of high gas prices and the pros and cons of fuel consumption at four dollars a gallon. First we'll take a look at historical gas prices in the United States and what caused the prices to rise. get to where they were. With the recent decline in gas prices over the past couple of years, many people are wondering how close are we to all-time lows? Going back to 1918, according to Inflation Data.com (2016), the nominal price of gas (the actual price paid at the pump at that time) was twenty-five cents per gallon. However, if you look at the inflation-adjusted price (the price you paid if you used today's dollars), it was actually $3.92 a gallon. $3.92 might seem high, but you need to remember that the purchasing power of the dollar has declined dramatically over the last 100 years. The price was high especially because gasoline was just entering commercial production. Then, as refining capacity improved, prices began to fall, both nominally and in inflation-adjusted terms (Inflation Data, 2016). Fast forward to 1979. The Iranian revolution... middle of paper... extortion grants large tax breaks and oil subsidies, further increasing their wealth and profits. In my opinion, the cons far outweigh the pros. the question: Is four dollars a gallon good or bad for America? I believe it is bad for America, placing an undue burden on consumers and pushing the economy into recession. I believe there can be a balance where both consumers and big oil companies can achieve equilibrium. As a college student, I estimate this balance to be around $2.75-$3.00 per gallon, along with oil in the $90-$100 per barrel range. Gas prices at four dollars a gallon have thus far proven unsustainable, due to depressions, recessions and now oversupply. When oil and gas prices crash and are low, as they are in today's environment, a new question arises: Are historically low oil and gas prices good or bad for America? And that question is for another paper.