It was not the phone call I expected on Monday morning. We all understand elections are important, and that elections have consequences- but this caller from Northwest Montana started to get really choked up as he talked about the importance of the mid-term elections here in Montana and elsewhere across the country.

There's a lot going on. Gas prices at $5 a gallon. Massive inflation. A drumbeat of divisiveness coming out of Washington, DC. A foreign policy that has Americans wondering if we are on the brink of WWIII. Baby formula shortages. Apparently this has some younger couples wondering if this is really the best time to bring a baby into the world.

Steve in Marion, Montana was listening to KJJR radio in Kalispell and called in. He says he has two children who are getting married this summer, and they don't plan on having kids because of the current direction our country is headed.

Steve in Marion: I'm thankful for Montana. I love living here...I'm realizing well- I'm not going to experience grand fatherhood just because such a lack of great decisions. And I just want to say that bad policy affects all people badly. Except for the bad people that make the bad policy. It is so important for us to choose men and women with integrity, and will make good policy for all people. Please consider that when you strike a button tomorrow, no matter what party you're from, you don't understand. It's your children and your legacy too, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, a Green Party, whatever. It's important. Integrity.

That was line of the day: "bad policy affects all people badly. Except for the bad people that make the bad policy." The bad people who make the bad policies never seem to have to suffer under their own bad policies do they? You notice the president made it out to the beach this weekend. But don't worry, you paid for the gas.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

 

 

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