By Daniel Stefanski |
Americans are paying the price for an economy seemingly in decline.
A recent study, released by CBS News, showed that “the typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs.”
These numbers showed that Arizona has experienced the high-end of inflation and added cost-of-living expenses for residents. On average, Arizona households must spend $13,329 more than they did in January 2021. Only two states, Utah and Colorado, are ahead of Arizona.
One of the contributing factors to the higher costs of living in the Grand Canyon State might be the prices at gas pumps, which have consistently been more than many other states in America. Throughout 2023, Republicans at the Arizona Legislature have attempted to get to the bottom of the reasons for the above-average prices for gas. Earlier this fall, the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Air Quality and Energy convened to hear from Michelle Wilson, the Regulatory Compliance Administrator for the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures.
After the hearing, the Committee issued a press release to publicize that Wilson “admitted the Hobbs Administration was passive when oil companies in March warned of refinery shutdowns,” adding “that according to Wilson, for the first time in five years, the Governor’s office received a request from refineries to ask the EPA for a waiver, allowing for an alternative fuel type to provide an adequate supply for drivers and preventing a hike in gas prices.” Yet after the Governor’s Office “had conversations with the EPA about submitting a request for a waiver, … the EPA convinced Hobbs to not submit one.”
“Rather than making a case on behalf of Arizonans struggling to fill their tanks with prices hitting $5 per gallon, Governor Hobbs chose to not push back against the EPA and was complicit with the Biden Administration’s pro-inflation, radical environmentalist agenda,” said Senator Sine Kerr, the Committee’s co-chair. “As a result of Hobbs’ inaction, Maricopa County drivers were forced to shell out an extra several hundred million dollars just to get to their destinations during this supply disruption.”
The national average for gas prices, as of November 29, is $3.246 for a regular gallon of gas, which is down from last year’s average of $3.521 at the same time. Arizona clocks in at above average at $3.490, down from $4.055 at this time in 2022.
The state’s cost of living is regarded as one of the country’s highest, regardless of the study used to compute the ranking. The MERIC 2022 Cost of Living Index shows Arizona as 37th (out of 50) while RentCafe has the state’s costs at six percent higher than the national average.
Arizona’s housing market is also a contributing factor to the state’s high cost of living. According to Redfin, the median sale price in Arizona is $438,000, compared to $414,633 for the entire U.S. market (as of October 2023).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
