by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Soaring gasoline prices, driven by the U.S. war with Iran, are squeezing American households.
For Californians, price hikes, combined with existing tariffs, are straining family budgets and fueling opposition to a war many Americans neither want nor understand.
"I don't know what we are going to do when gas prices keep rising," said Tracy Brown, a local school teacher, explaining that her teacher's salary was already stretched to the breaking point by unexpected price increases, causing her family serious financial problems.
Residents in California are paying the highest gas prices in the country: an average 5.542 U.S. dollars a gallon, as of Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association.
"How can we afford to pay our rent and utilities to keep a roof over our children's heads when all our other expenses keep going up because of Trump's tariffs and now this senseless war in Iran? Is the President going to pay the increases for us?" she asked.
Her friend, Amanda B., a 34-year-old restaurant worker, echoed those sentiments with sharp criticism. "Trump claims prices are going down, but everything's still going up," she said.
At a Chevron station near Burbank, California, an employee named Hussein said: "As long as the war in Iran drags on, gas prices will continue to go up and up. All our customers are complaining, but only Trump can fix this, not us."
The frustration was palpable among other drivers at the pump, who glumly watched the numbers tick up once again.
"Aren't things bad enough without adding an expensive war to the mix?" asked Danny C., 56, another disgruntled gas buyer.
"That's going to hit all Americans in the wallet again," he said, adding that there is a big difference between viewing Iran as a "possible future threat" and endorsing a major military campaign that would cost American lives and drive up taxes and gas prices right now.
"I think these gas prices are ridiculous. I think they are taking advantage of us out here. It's too much, 5.99 dollars for one gallon," a female customer, Eadica, said at a gas station in El Monte, a city in Los Angeles County.
"Everything out here is super expensive: the rent, the groceries, everything," she said.
As the U.S. conflict with Iran intensifies, public opinion has moved quickly from passively watching events overseas to judging its immediate consequences at home. A range of national polls conducted in early March shows that many Americans oppose the military action and disapprove of the Donald Trump administration's handling of the conflict.
According to a Marist Poll conducted in March, Americans oppose U.S. military action against Iran by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin.
"I agree with those polls," said Greg Bush, a businessman and customer buying gas at a Shell station. "Americans don't need this war. Americans don't want this war. Only the Trump administration and his Israeli cronies want this war and don't mind leaving the rest of us to pay the consequences."
"Californians are feeling more pain at the pump than any other state as the conflict with Iran pushes up prices," said the Los Angeles Times in a report.
The prices in California are higher than in other states because of higher taxes and stricter requirements for cleaner, more expensive gas that pollutes less, the report said.
Polling suggests Americans are bracing for even more price hikes. A Reuters/Ipsos poll reported that most Americans expect gasoline prices to keep rising in the coming months after the strikes, with majorities anticipating that the situation could drag on rather than end quickly.
"War is supposed to be a last resort to keep people safer," said office manager Connor. "But this war just makes everyone less safe and destabilizes the world economy. Why are we fighting with Iran? Does anybody even know?" ■