This whole argument is stupid. Yeah, sure the price of staple goods is more expensive/inflates faster than gas, but I ask, Who needs to buy 10-15 gallons of milk in a week? Or 10-15 loaves of bread?
If we could get buy with 1-2 gallons of gas a week, then $3.00 gallon would be nothing to fret over. The fact that we have to consume gas at a much higher rate and quantity than similarly priced staple goods refutes this whole argument.
Somebody with 6 kids?
I'd also add, there are also lots of people who do not need to buy gas. I recall growing up that we did not always own a car and either walked or took a street car where we were going. There are still a lot of people like that today.
For what it's worth, there was a guy I work with that was bitching about gas prices. Talking to him, I figured out that at $3.00/gal, he was spending about $3/per day commuting back and forth to work and coming in the door each morning with a $5 cup of Starbucks coffee while the Maxwell House here is free. ;~))
Perceptions rule.