CNN faced intense backlash online Friday after publishing a report that suggested Americans should view a slight dip in gas prices as a “$100-a-month raise” or a “$100-a-month tax cut.”
The national average price of gasoline was $2.38 per gallon when President Joe Biden assumed office, according to the Energy Information Administration, and increased to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Daily Wire reported. Prices surpassed $5.00 per gallon in early June before subsiding to $3.92 per gallon as of Friday, according to AAA.
CNN Business senior writer Chris Isidore lauded the decline in gas prices without mentioning that costs remain highly elevated from the level seen less than two years ago.
“Next time you stop at a gas station, think of it as a $100-a-month tax cut. Or a maybe $100-a-month raise,” Isidore wrote. “The steady drop in gas prices over the last few months has turned into an unexpected form of economic stimulus, coming at a time when the Federal Reserve is trying to cool the economy and battle rising prices with higher interest rates.”
Hellbound and Down 