'How are we gonna get through this?'
asserted
we → go → this
Americans face tough decisions as diesel and gas prices rise
asserted
prices → face → decisions
“People are just very frustrated right now," a soybean farmer told ABC News.
asserted
farmer → frustrate → News
As diesel and gas prices soar in the United States amid the war with Iran, Americans across the country are making tough decisions as they continue to cope with the heavy strain of inflation.
“You have to manage your bills.
asserted
You → soar → bills
You have to manage the food you bring in.
asserted
you → have → food
You have to manage how you pay your bills … everything has to be budgeted,” said Betsy Rosado, a 47-year-old mother who lives with her husband and five of their children in Spring Hill, Florida.
asserted
who → have → Hill
Rosado said her business degree has helped her manage household finances.
asserted
her → say → finances
But for others, the budgeting agony “could bring somebody to the point of depression, and it could bring somebody to a mental collapse, especially when they have kids.”
uncertain
they → bring → kids
Rosado said her toddler, who has significant developmental and respiratory issues, requires treatments multiple times a week.
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who → say → treatments
She has had to cut back on therapy sessions because of rising gas prices.
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She → have → prices
“We had to switch to, unfortunately, virtual therapies.
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We → switch → therapies
And with my daughter with disabilities, we are stopping occupational therapies,” she said.
asserted
she → stop → therapies
As of Wednesday, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.36, according to GasBuddy, up $1.42 since the U.S. war with Iran began on Feb. 28.
uncertain
war → accord → Feb.
“The first thing that crosses your mind is, what is it going to be tomorrow?
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it → cross → mind
How are we gonna get through this, and then it's the point of, do I need to move out of this state?”
asserted
I → go → state
Rosado said.
asserted
Rosado → say → ?
“You feel stuck …
asserted
You → feel → ?
the system is not – it's not made for us to succeed.”
asserted
us → make → ?
Meanwhile, the cost of diesel has hit a record high at $6.30 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.
uncertain
cost → hit → GasBuddy
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News on Wednesday that “a lot of states are seeing pretty monumental jumps” in both gas and diesel prices and “there's really no signs of when this might start to slow down.”
uncertain
this → tell → prices
“Until something happens to deescalate these geopolitical tensions, prices will keep going higher,” he added.
asserted
he → happen → tensions
Truck drivers, who are feeling the financial strain at the pump, and farmers, who rely on diesel to power up agricultural machinery, told ABC News that the rise in diesel costs has put a strain on their businesses and their livelihoods.
asserted
rise → feel → businesses
Lewie Pugh, who has driven over 2 million miles for the past 25 years, is also the executive vice president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents nearly 150,000 small business truckers.
asserted
which → drive → truckers
Pugh told ABC News that every $1 increase in diesel prices costs truckers approximately $400 more per tank.
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increase → tell → tank
Some weeks have cost an extra $800 to fill up, he added.
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he → cost → 800
“Trucking has a very slim profit margin already.
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Trucking → have → margin
I've always said it was a penny saved business, not a penny made business,” Pugh said.
asserted
Pugh → say → ?
“So when you're already constrained and something like this happens to this magnitude, you just can't absorb it as a motor carrier.
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you → constrain → carrier
There's no way – they'll be out of business tomorrow.”
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they → be → business
Pugh said the higher prices truckers are paying are being passed down to the companies whose products are being shipped, causing the prices of everything from food to clothes to go up for Americans.
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prices → say → Americans
“This has huge rippling effects in the supply chain and in the economy because trucking and truckers haul so much stuff,” he said.
asserted
he → have → stuff
For John Bartman, a fifth-generation farmer on his family’s centuries-old farm in Marengo, Illinois, told ABC News that the rising costs of diesel has vastly impacted his agricultural production.
asserted
costs → tell → production
“People are just very frustrated right now,” Bartman said.
asserted
Bartman → say → ?
Bartman, who grows soybeans, said Illinois is the No. 1 soybean producer in the nation, but skyrocketing prices in diesel and fertilizer have hindered his ability to grow the major crop.
asserted
prices → grow → crop
“The price of diesel today is over $6 a gallon, and we use 300 gallons of diesel a day.
asserted
we → use → diesel
So now we're talking $1,800 a day,” she said.
asserted
she → talk → 1,800
Additionally, he said that the cost of fertilizer was over $120 an acre this year.
asserted
cost → say → fertilizer
“It just keeps on increasing all the time,” he said.
asserted
he → keep → ?
Bartman lamented the economic conditions and expressed concern about how this will impact the next generation of farmers.
asserted
this → lament → farmers
“There's some people that think things are going to get better, but I've seen too many good young farmers who had a full-time job besides farming, who've just decided I can't do this anymore,” Bartman said.
asserted
Bartman → be → this
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
