Ben White at Politico has written this piece on surging gas prices and whether the cost to consumers is gobbling up gains, if any, to the middle class from the tax cut. Here's an excerpt:
President Donald Trump is hoping a wave of tax-cut-fueled economic euphoria will boost his approval ratings and his party’s political fortunes this fall. A sharp spike in gas prices could slam the brakes on all of that. As Americans head out for traditional Memorial Day weekend road trips, they’ll confront gas prices of nearly $3 a gallon, the highest since 2014 and a 25 percent spike since last year. The increased cost of fuel is already wiping out a big chunk of the benefit Americans received from the GOP tax cuts. And things could get worse as summer approaches following the administration’s standoff with Iran and a move by oil-producing nations to tighten supplies.
Public Citizen blames Trump for increases in gas prices, citing (1) the roll-back of Obama-era fuel-economy standards, (2) Trump's failure to reverse Obama's lifting of the oil export ban (that sounds more Obama's fault, even if it's Trump's too), and (3) pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.