Gas prices and household budgets.
Let's relax for a minute. That $3-a-gallon price of gas that's bearing down on us is alarming. But on average, it's still less than 4 percent of a family's household budget, according to a report written a couple of years ago at a Washington think tank.
Still, if your budget is smaller, that percentage is higher, especially if you are working and driving a lot.
It's not surprising that the report, published by Economic Opportunity Studies, says the biggest burden of rising fuel prices hit middle and lower income Americans the hardest.
These figures are estimates from last year, but they make the point.
Here is the figure for gasoline as a percent of a family's annual budget:
Lowest 20 percent in income: 3.4%
Second 20 percent in income: 3.7%
Third 20 percent in income: 3.7%
Fourth 20 percent in income: 3.4%
Top 20 percent in income: 2.7%
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