Bob CollinsThe price of gasoline jumped in the Twin Cities today, hitting $2.79 a gallon in most locations. It’s a lot better than a year ago, of course, but it’s a lot higher than a few months ago.
The experts said the economy would get a big boost because we’d spend the money we didn’t spend on gas on things that might get the economy humming a little more.
It’s as if the experts have never met the motoring public because a study out from the New York branch of the Federal Reserve reveals what we did with all that money, according to CNBC.
Researchers at New York brokerage Convergex believe they know where Americans spent their savings at the pump—on more gas. Looking at one period, Convergex found that Americans drove 3.9 percent more in March 2015 than in March 2014.
“Americans are certainly driving more, and in newer cars,” Nick Colas, the firm’s chief market strategist, said in a note. “We just might not have any particular place to go.”
In hindsight, it’s a perfectly logical explanation. As the old saying goes, “the cure for high gasoline prices is high gasoline prices,” because we conserve. So it stands to reason that when the price drops, we feel pretty comfortable adopting old ways.
