3 Months of Trump’s Disastrous Iran War Has Cost US Consumers $60 Billion in Extra Energy Costs
Julia
Conley for Common Dreams
On May 29, Moody’s Analytics put an exact number on the heightened financial anxiety
families across the country have been feeling over the past three months as
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent fuel prices soaring: $447.19.
That’s how much the average US household has had to
additionally spend on fuel-related expenses since Trump and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyanu launched their attack on February 28, Moody’s told
CNBC.
Altogether, Americans have spent a total of nearly $60
billion on gas, airline fares, and other related costs as the strait, a key
shipping route for oil,
has remained effectively closed.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular
gas stands at $4.39—up close to 50% since early March. Diesel now costs $5.52
per gallon, forcing consumers to pay $20 billion more in additional expenses on
groceries and other goods.
“The economy isn’t just soft, it’s struggling,” Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, said Thursday. “The Iran war needs to end, and the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened soon, or recession will become more likely than not.”
As CNBC reported Friday, “higher energy costs can force
consumers to raid their savings and lean more on debt to cover expenses.”
Trump flatly said earlier this month that he doesn’t consider
Americans’ financial situation “even a little bit” when it comes to the war on
Iran, while National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett posited earlier this week that Americans are “spending
more money” not because higher prices are forcing them to but because they’re
“very, very optimistic about the state of the economy.” He also bragged recently that “credit card spending is through
the roof”—a sign several observers took not as a positive omen for the economy
but as a sign that families are being forced to take on debt to pay for gas and
other essentials.
Zandi provided a reality check Friday.
“Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers
will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending, threatening
the already soft economy,” he told CNBC, warning that families could end up
spending nearly $2,000 extra on fuel-related costs if the war continues reaches
the one-year mark.
Republicans emphasized
last year that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act would give bigger tax returns
to families across the country. Any benefit, said Zandi, has now been canceled
out by the president’s war.
On Thursday, US Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-NY),
and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said the White House is in
denial about the fact that Americans are struggling with the impact of Trump’s
foreign policy decisions as the Pentagon vastly
underestimates how much the conflict has cost in public statements.
The acting comptroller of the Pentagon told Congress in April that the war had cost $25
billion, increasing the estimate to $29 billion two weeks later.
The senators told the Congressional Budget Office Friday
that independent analyses had put the real cost of the war at $40 billion-$50
billion.
“It is essential,” said the lawmakers, “that Congress and
the American public receive accurate, comprehensive estimates of the costs of
the war in Iran.”