Business

<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Julie Jacobs sits with her children Natalie (left), 4, and Aidan, 6, at their home in Baltimore. Rising gas prices prompted the Jacobs family to cancel a beach vacation in South Carolina.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Gas prices are Americans' top worry, poll says Americans are skipping on luxuries and doing what they can to drive less. Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Four- dollar gasoline has stolen a beach vacation from Julie Jacobs' family, "little small luxuries" such as exotic bath washes from Angela Crawford, and dinners out from folks all over the country. Phil English has had to sell his beloved but fuel-guzzling red pickup. Like a plague that hits every economic class, race and age, soaring fuel prices are inflicting pain throughout the U.S. Nine in 10 people are expecting the ballooning costs to squeeze them financially over the next half-year, says an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Nearly half think that hardship will be serious. To cope, most are driving less, easing off the air conditioning and heating at home and cutting corners elsewhere. Half are curtailing vacation plans; nearly as many are considering buying cars that burn less gas. U.S. auto companies are closing plants that make pickups and SUVs that people have stopped buying. As the price of gasoline has spiraled upward, so too has the public's ire. Two-thirds consider gas prices an extremely important issue, edging the economy and outpacing health care and Iraq as the country's most distressing problem. In November, when gas cost about $1 a gallon less than today, just under half rated it extremely important. "Do you think there's an end in sight? I don't," said Crawford, a 33-year-old Dallas homemaker. She said switching to bar soap from a favored lotion is one of many "little small luxuries" she has given up, along with fewer restaurant meals and new clothes. She also has talked with her husband, a flooring contractor, about finding a job involving less long-distance driving with his heavy van. "It's depressing and it makes you nervous," she said. The AP-Yahoo News poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, has tracked the same 2,000 people since last fall to see how their views change during the presidential campaign. The latest survey shows how the price of gasoline has caught or eclipsed every other issue, not just as a political topic but as a problem in people's lives. "You're saddened prices are going up, and you can't do the extra things you would have done," said Amy Pysarenko, 35, of San Antonio, whose concern about gas prices has grown since November. She says while her family has cut back on amusement park visits and saving for their children, "I feel fortunate because maybe someone else eats beans instead of hamburgers." The 47 percent in the most recent survey who expect higher gas costs to cause serious hardship is about the same as in last year's poll, but an increase from the 30 percent who said so in an AP-Ipsos poll in June 2004. Then, regular gas averaged $1.97 a gallon nationally, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Lower-income people are bearing the brunt of it. As higher prices push grocery, pizza delivery and other costs upward, just over half of those without college degrees -- and about the same percentage of those earning less than $50,000 a year -- are expecting serious personal financial problems to result. "We just don't do as much," said William Fisk, 39, a former dishwasher in Freeport, Maine. "We used to go out to have dinner, but we're cutting way back on that."

1. Boeing Machinists vote to strike; union leaders say wait 2. Grim task of investigating Skagit County killings 3. 2 Lake Stevens schools in lockdown 4. Marysville-Pilchuck out of lockdown; man arrested nearby 5. New Glacier Peak High School dubbed 'pretty rad' 6. Boeing Machinists’ strike deferred 7. County Council says it was denied access to budget 8. Lockdown lifted at Lake Stevens schools 9. Don't miss out on settlement's payout 10. Couple's roadside lunch interrupted by attempted burglary 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Bringing the world to Edmonds • FEMA turns to media to improve public image • Annexation's frustrations • A run for Charlotte • Annexation's frustrations • Minimalist food bars have local flavor • E-W aims for fifth straight league title • Wildcats moving forward • Terrace approves stormwater rate hike • Leisure Time Events - September 2008 • September 2008 • State needs to establish north county campus to meet growing technology ... • Future software programs may be based online • Visit two unusual Paine Field aviation museums for historic and futurist ... • Mothers launch Kids ‘N’ Clay pottery studio to provide children with cre ... • AWB elections Web site debuts • Construction begins on Korry Electronics’ plant