A number of refineries along the Gulf Coast are idle.  Hurricanes aren’t friendly to our domestic energy industry.  I remember the tremendous run-up in prices at the pumps after Katrina.  Because my mother died shortly after the storm.  Driving home for the funeral, the cost of gasoline added to the pain. 

In Idaho, we’re already paying far more than the national average, which I read yesterday was $3.23 a gallon for unleaded regular.

Fox Business Network expects a slight increase as we approach the last big driving weekend of summer.  Bloomberg writes the price per futures is already climbing.

Oh, and OilPrice.com suggests the cost of West Texas Intermediary could be skyrocketing.  The hurricane isn’t even a factor for the projected increase in WTI.  Oil prices were strongly rebounding through much of last week.

In Idaho, we’re already paying far more than the national average, which I read yesterday was $3.23 a gallon for unleaded regular.  Couple it with our housing costs, grocery costs and the price of clothes and we get another type of perfect storm!  All of these increases are going to harm the economic recovery.  I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve greatly reduced travel the last six weeks.  Many planned activities have been shelved until the cost of fuel drops.  Maybe it won’t.  There are many people now in government who favor causing you pain.  They believe it’ll make the green economy a better sell.

They also believe if the overall economic outlook takes a nosedive that they can simply print up more money.  Expect a big check just before Election Day in 2022!  Strange times we live in.  Caution is simply thrown to the wind.

RANKED: Here are the most popular national parks

To determine the most popular national parks in the United States, Stacker compiled data from the National Park Service on the number of recreational visits each site had in 2020. Keep reading to discover the 50 most popular national parks in the United States, in reverse order from #50 to #1. And be sure to check with individuals parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

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