The Imperial Presidency, Part 2

[Inquisitive Raven]

To be clear, I expect modern gas prices in the $4-5/gal range locally, about the same as a loaf of bread. $3 was noughties pricing.

$3/gallon is bang in the middle of the price range in New Jersey, with the small chain/no-name gas stations charging around $2.79 and the big names charging $3.09 (EDIT:  for Regular), at least as of this past weekend.  But the prices have been floating in that vicinity for some months now.  NJ traditionally has lower prices than the surrounding states because of the combination of lower gas taxes and lower transportation costs thanks to the refineries near Elizabeth.

EDIT 2:  This despite a state law that bans self-serve pumps and mandates that your gas is pumped by a station employee, which you would expect would raise prices.

I couldn't tell you what gas prices are like in Philadelphia because I haven't owned a car since 2011 or driven since 2020, and thus don't pay attention to gas prices, but ISTR that when I did have a car, they were consistently several cents/gallon more expensive than the priciest gas in New Jersey.