(The Center Square) — When motorists see how much it costs to fill up their cars, they might be quick to share their complaints with someone like Shan Nanji.
However, the co-owner of the Chevron gas station on N. Peachtree Road off Interstate 285 in Dunwoody is feeling the pinch like everyone else.
“To be honest, with gas prices going up and [the] cost of everything going up, business has been a lot slower,” Nanji, who said he only makes a few cents per gallon for gas sales, told The Center Square. “I think everyone’s pockets are hurting, especially in the summer months with travel and a lot of things going on. It’s definitely [having] a huge impact on the bottom line. Nonetheless, it’s a little bit out of our control.”
Nanji’s gas station was the backdrop for a promotion backed by Americans for Prosperity-Georgia. Last week, the group dropped gas prices at the station to $2.389 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, the national average when President Joe Biden took office.
“As gas prices go up, people are going to be making decisions on what other things they can afford,” AFP-GA Grassroots Engagement Director Logan Fletcher told The Center Square. “It’s going to impact them in a huge way, just in their daily lives, and this is happening across the board. It’s gas prices, it’s food prices.
“From my perspective, ‘Bidenomics’ is just not working for the average person,” Fletcher added. “And I think that bringing the price of gas down to $2.38 like we’ve done is showing people that this is what was; this is what happened before we started dealing with these ‘Bidenomics’ policies.”
For motorist Megan Meyer, who fills her tank weekly, what once cost her about $30 now costs $50, and anywhere she can save money helps.
Lowering gas prices is “absolutely important, especially since I’m about to have two babies. Gas prices are killing us. So are grocery prices, but everything is,” Meyer told The Center Square. “It hurts because … I could fill up my car for 30 bucks. [An extra] $20? Okay, but when you’re filling up once a week, that’s 200 bucks a month versus $120 a month. It adds up.”
While promotions are great for headlines and attract motorists looking for a bargain, lowering gas prices isn’t an overnight fix and will require a change in policies at the federal level.
“The longer-term fix is just getting better policies by the people we elect, not electing people who are going to put policies in place that raise the cost of gas for Americans,” Fletcher said. “We’ve seen that from the Biden administration. That’s what this event is for; it’s to raise awareness to show people that this is what was, and if you want to go back to that, then we need to do something different.”
By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor
