Pain at the Pump: In One Month Gas Jumps 30 Cents Per Gallon in Grand Rapids

Trips to the gas station are becoming more and more painful, and the trend doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

Headline from Detroit: Gas Prices up 34 cents since last month.

Closer to home, according to GasBuddy, Gas is up 34.6 cents from last month and up almost 56 cents from this time last year!

What's happening?!?

Well, first of all there's a 7 cent tax increase that just went into effect. (Hopefully every penny of that will go to fixing the west end of M-6.)

But I think there's something else going on. I have my own personal theory that isn't based on any science or any other studies just my own little theory.

Here's what it boils down to.

Once every couple of years we get a break at the gas pump. If you look at the graph on the GasBuddy page you'll see 2 years ago we were paying like $4 a gallon! Right? Then the presidential primaries began!

Okay, maybe this is a stretch but it seems like clockwork to me ... We bump up for a couple of years to unheard of prices at the pump. Then it's election time and the price bottoms out.

So, the toss up is, you pay way less at the pump, but you hear nothing but political commentary by every single one of your facebook friends who will unfriend you if you dare vote for the other candidate.

But hot dog we can road trip all day!

Maybe I'm super off. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'll be the next host of the conspiracy theory late night show.

Tell me what you think. Why is gas going up again?!?