In 1964, when I started college, gas was about $.35/gal., cigarettes $.30 pack, a new full-sized car cost between $3000-4000, and a house might run you $15,000. Today, that car is $35000, the cigarettes $3.00/pack, the house $150,000 and gas $3.50/gal here. Wage growth in the same period has outstripped the 10x expense growth. Why should $4.00 gas be a big deal?