As gas prices continue to surge across the country, one gas station owner in Amherst, Massachusetts, is staging a unique protest.
According to Western Mass News, Reynold Gladu will no longer be selling gas at his Mobil station.
“It’s hard enough for people to put groceries on their table after working in the factory or wherever they work for 30, 40 hours a week and not be able to put gas in their car to get to work,” Gladu said. “I don’t want to be part of it.”
The national average price for a gallon of gas rose to $4.99 on Friday, according to AAA. This represented an increase of 23 cents in just seven days.
When President Joe Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021, the average price per gallon in the U.S. was $2.39, the New York Post reported. Just a year and a half later, that price has more than doubled.
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Instead of subjecting customers to the high prices, Gladu chose to drain the tanks at his station, Western Mass News reported.
“Two weeks ago on a Friday, they came in and said, ‘Put the price of gas up 20 cents,’” Gladu said.
“The following day, which was a Saturday, they said gas is up another 20 cents. Right off the bat, the bells went off in my head. I said, ‘How can it go up 40 cents in less than 24 hours?’”
Gladu said if he continues selling gas, gas companies like Mobil are the only ones who stand to benefit.
“There’s no justification. It’s the same gas that was in the ground that they’re just making extra money on,” he said.
Gladu does not plan to shut down his station completely, but he will only run the portions that belong to him directly.
“I will continue to operate this that belongs to me, not Mobil, but myself as an individual, and if people want to have their cars serviced I’ll be happy to do it,” Gladu said.
Democrats have attempted to deflect responsibility for the rising gas prices. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said much of the blame should fall on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The price at the pump is affected by shortages, some of it caused by Putin,” Pelosi said. “Some of this is Putin’s price at the pump. Not all of it, but most — much of it.”
While the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine may have contributed to rising gas prices, inflation was already causing them to surge long beforehand. Democrats know how bad this looks for them, so they have tried to change the narrative.
The fact is that most Americans are smart enough to see through these lies. According to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, Biden’s overall approval rating is down to 33 percent.
Democrats can focus on the Capitol incursion or gun control all they want, but it won’t distract Americans from the sky-high prices they are being forced to pay at the pump.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.