In the long run, I think it is. Consider: there's only so much economically accessible petroleum in the world. So, over the long run, it isn't really a question of how much gas we burn, but rather how much production we get for the fixed amount of gas available. That comes down to efficiency. Once upon a time, we were burning a gallon gas to go an average of 10 miles. Now, thanks to efficiency gains, it's more like 30 miles. In a decade, in might be more like 50 miles. As gas prices rise, the incentive for innovation to raise efficiency grows, and we wind up with technologies that make the same gallon go farther and farther. If gas were, say, $2/gallon, there would be little incentive to improve efficiency, and we'd delay those innovations, and wind up getting less overall economic production from our fixed amount of available gas. Since it's well over $4/gallon, we can expect to get changes that allow us to get MORE production per unit in the future. Thanks to these higher gas prices, we're going to waste less gas and get more benefit.
Ive heard the LIE said many times that the Democrats are the party for the poor.
Check the history. What has the change in the poverty rate been under Democratic presidents? How about under Republican presidents? The fact is poverty rates have RISEN, net, under Republican presidents, while they're down over 12 points under Democratic presidents. And, remember, the way the poverty rate is calculated already takes inflation into account. There's a reason Democrats are widely seen as better for the poor. When Dems are calling the shots, poor people tend to rise into the middle class. When Republicans are, middle class people tend to fall into poverty. That's simply an historical reality.