Many Californians have been struggling with rising gas prices this week, but Latinos especially are feeling the pain at the pump.
Gasoline prices reached up to $5 per gallon on Monday, after a week of soaring gasoline prices. According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks gas prices from the Oil Price Information Service, the cost of fuel is reaching record-breaking levels.
Although the record-setting prices have begun to ease, the cost of the gas prices is still at unprecedented levels. The average price on Wednesday was around $4.67 a gallon, making it the highest in the nation.
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Latinos are traditionally among the hardest hit when gas prices go up. According to a Center for American Progress report, 72 percent of Latino households experienced financial hardship in 2011 as a result of rising gas prices. The numbers are even worse for California. Last year, 88 percent of Latinos reported financial hardship due to soaring gas prices.
Angelica Solis is the Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better Community, a California-based group that promotes economic development and financial literacy for Latinos. According to Solis, many Latinos that the Alliance works with come from lower-income families in the Los Angeles area, and are having to cut back on all their expenses in order to save money.
“This had already been the case because of the economic crisis, but the Latino community is further impacted in addition to what they’ve already been experiencing. They’re being resourceful,” Solis says. READ MORE
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