The $40 Gas Can: A High Price for the High Ground

​Let’s start with a confession: gas prices on our little Puget Sound island are always higher than the mainland. Washington state, in general, usually sees prices that would make the rest of the country wince. But even with that baseline, seeing diesel hit $7 a gallon caught me off guard.

​At this point, filling up a five-gallon can to feed my tractor feels like the kind of financial move I should consult a retirement planner about before pulling the trigger.

​I’m just a weekend warrior—someone who spends my Saturdays digging up trees and straightening out roads. But standing there at the pump, I couldn't help but think about the farmers who actually depend on their tractors to make a living. There is no doubt those costs will eventually be passed down to us at the grocery store, but I worry more about the immediate impact on the producers. Many family farms were already hanging by a thread; for some, this might be the speedbump that finally wrecks the business.

​It’s becoming increasingly obvious that the current administration didn't do a tremendous amount of planning for the fallout of this war, and I think we’re all going to be paying for it for a while. The highest price, of course, is being paid by the American service members putting themselves in harm's way.

​Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be a long, hard haul for all of us until the leadership in the Oval Office changes.