A recent hacking has caused a gas shortage along the east coast. The shortage has caused fear amongst travelers and soon after the news spread many went to gas stations to prepare for the worst. As demand for gas rose, so did the price per gallon. Most gas stations are selling gas for about three dollars per gallon and other gas stations have simply just ran out of supply.

The gas company, Colonial Pipeline, recently got attacked by European hackers and was unable to deliver gas. This soon effected many gas stations, as the company is responsible for about 45% of the deliveries along the east coast. As more and more journalists and news stations reported the problem, their was one thing that motivated the increase in demand for gas, fear. People, understandably, had concerns over how they would travel to work, get children to school, and even travel back home from vacation. While these were legitimate concerns to have, some people had other plans. Their have been many photos taken that show the true selfishness that some people have. Photos of people getting more than enough gas than needed, and even someone who decided to fill trash bags full of gas, shows just what fear can drive someone to do.

This is not the first time something like that has happened during the pandemic. Just last year, stores had a toilet paper shortage due to costumers buying too much product. And even more recently, however it is admit ably a less serious issue, Chick-fil-a has set limits on sauces due to a shortage as well. Although the sauce shortage is small in comparison to the gas station, one thing is for sure. The tension within the US has become bigger and bigger, and it seems as though everything will pop soon.

The pandemic has caused the unemployment rate to increase. Their have been plans to provide aid for those who could not find a job, however a problem arose. The government has no money to provide. And as the Consume Price Index (CPI) increases, so will the public’s anger over inflation. With no aid to pay groceries, and more stores raising prices in order to stay in business, the costumer’s and the economy will eventually have a breaking point.

Although inflation seems inevitable, it may not be a bad thing. While prices may rise they will, hopefully, drop back down. However, if shortages continue to happen and more unfortunate events cause supply to drop drastically, then it may spell trouble for businesses and costumers in the future.

Credit: Kornfield, Meryl, “Should people pump gas into trash bags during the fuel shortage? Please don’t, officials warn.” May 12, 2021, The Washington Post