According to OPIS (Oil Price Information Service)study, it costs the lower-income American about eight times more of their disposable income on gasoline.  It depends on the location, but in Kentucky, Mississippi, or Alabama it costs more than 11 percent of the residents income to fill up their car.  Current gas prices have risen very quickly over the past couple of weeks.  It is getting crazy out there!  We have signs of the economy weakening, consumer spending is down, housing market has taken a big hit, credit is hard to come by, auto sales are down, and people are losing their jobs due to downsizing, bankruptcy, or closure.  We have not even mentioned the Iraq war casualties or the upcoming 2008 Presidential election.  The forecast of our future is scary.  I definitely would not want to be a candidate for the 2008 Presidential election with so many major issues that need to be addressed and resolved.