If Only Gasoline Prices Were Constantly High

Which causes consumers more angst—high prices or rising prices? Same difference, you might say, since rising prices tend to become high prices. But ABCNews/Money polling about gasoline prices suggests that people react more strongly to a sharp increase than to a price that’s simply high. A poll fielded last month found 53 percent of respondents saying recent rises in gas prices have caused them financial hardship. That’s up 17 percentage points from the number who said the same in a May 2000 poll and up 5 points from a poll conducted this time last year.