> Do you have an explanation for why the increased price of gasoline won’t just infect prices for all the goods and services which depend on it? The price of g

> Do you have an explanation for why the increased price of gasoline won’t just infect prices for all the goods and services which depend on it? The price of gas is known to be volatile, it has gone up in the past without bringing the entire economy along with it, and also has gone down many times without making everything cheaper. The prices of retail goods don’t adjust instantaneously, and gas may well be below what it is now by this time next year. The price of gas might be a small minority fraction of the cost of producing most retail goods as well, so there’s no reason to assume that consumers will tolerate compensatory price hikes that blame gas while the price is falling. This is the reason that the US Department of Labor excludes the price of gas as one of the core indicators of inflation, because the price of gas does not always reflect inflation, and frequently changes for other reasons independent of inflation.