Has the government
of the still-somewhat townish City of Watertown asked you how you’re feeling?
Have they knocked
on your door or sent you a questionnaire asking if you are feeling an unusual
amount of stress? Or, if you have flu symptoms but you don’t actually have the
flu? Or, if you’ve been unusually on-edge and irritable? Or, how about (this is
a good one): Are you having trouble making ends meet?
This blog
post is about alarm bells. Do your elected and appointed representatives hear
and feel the same alarm bells that you do?
As of this
writing, the price of regular gas at some gas stations in Massachusetts has hit
$4.00 – which, as far as I know, has not been reported in Watertown, yet.
Already, it’s about a buck more than it was before all of us became painfully aware
of the existence of the Strait of Hormuz and what effect its blockage can have
on our daily lives.
One big
effect: uncertainty about the economy and the resulting anxiety about where it
will go − as if the economy weren’t already uncertain and anxiety-provoking
enough.
Scott Rick,
a professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in the psychology of
spending, explains that gas prices cause a specific type of visceral pain that
other products don't for several reasons:
Unlike almost any other consumer goods, gas
prices are displayed on massive, neon signs that bombard you in a way that’s
impossible to ignore.
Rick calls
it The "Slow Bleed" Effect, when you fill up your tank, and have to
stand at the pump, watching the numbers
"climb and climb" in front of you, while you may be imagining your hard-earned dollars flying out of your
wallet. Your brain processes this feeling similarly to physical discomfort or,
in some cases, pain.
Psychologists
like Aja Evans and researchers at the Brookings Institution have noted that gasoline
buyers can feel trapped and powerless − I don’t want to buy gas at this
price, but I have no choice. I have to get to work!
Research
from the University of Minnesota confirms what you already know. We fixate on
round number milestones like $4.00 or $5.00. Crossing these thresholds sets off
mental alarm bells that trigger anxiety.
Behavioral
economist Dan Ariely often discusses the concept of "anchoring,"
where your brain gets stuck on what (for you) a "normal" price used
to be, making any current price feel like a shock by comparison.
If your
anchor gas price, when you felt the price was normal, was $2.50, you’ve been
feeling pump shock for the past five years and you probably felt it in spades
when regular gas hit $3.00.
Are you now
bracing for $4.00? And when it hits will you be double-bracing for the
possibility of $4.50 or $5.00?
Following
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, regular gas topped $5.00 per gallon and
stayed there for several months. It was the highest ever recorded price in most
of the U.S., including greater Boston.
Now, the war
with Iran places us in uncharted territory. Uncertainty is an understatement. (Apparently
it’s easier to begin a war than to end one. Who knew?!)
Will gas
prices hit $5.00, or even a record-breaking $5.50 or $6.00, triggering pump
shock on top of pump shock? No one knows but lots of us can’t help but wonder.
And worry.
Do members
of our city council wonder and worry?
Diesel fuel
is currently rising faster than gasoline − climbing a staggering 38% since the
start of the war with Iran. This is due to a pre-existing low supply
exacerbated by the war and increased demand for diesel as a substitute for
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Surging
diesel fuel prices act as a primary driver for "cost-push" inflation,
directly increasing the price of almost every consumer good. On March 19, 2026,
the national average for diesel jumped to $5.07 per gallon – the highest level
since 2022.
High diesel
costs force shipping companies to implement fuel surcharges, which are passed
directly to retailers and then to consumers. Economists warn that if these
prices persist, they will lead to a "trickle-down" effect on everyday
expenses, especially grocery bills.
Fresh
produce prices are projected to rise by 10% to 15% because trucks ship 92% of
all dairy, fruit, vegetables, and nuts in the U.S.
You might be
thinking: let’s not carried get away with gloom and doom. After all, we went
through this in 2022 and then gas prices slowly became more normal.
But there’s
a huge difference this time. In 2022, gas prices spiked sharply, but many other
household costs had not yet fully caught up. Today, the pressure is coming from
multiple directions at once. Grocery bills, along with utilities and insurance
have risen dramatically.
Everyday services cost more. So now, when gas
prices spike, it doesn’t land in isolation − it lands on top of an already
stretched cost of living.
We have just
survived our coldest winter in a decade. Residents have been hit with
frightening heating bills, sometimes double what they expected. I know this
because they were panic-posting on Facebook and Nextdoor.
The obvious
consequence is that some (who knows how many?) of our friends and neighbors
have found themselves struggling to pay their bills. The less obvious
consequence is the mounting stress factor placed on the community as a whole.
Researchers
like Robert Sapolsky and Sheldon Cohen have shown that chronic, uncontrollable
stress can actually make you sick by raising your blood pressure, disrupting your
sleep, and weakening your immune system.
It’s not the
single alarm bell that does the damage. It’s the constant ringing of alarm
bells.
And this
isn’t just about people who are struggling to make ends meet. Even those who
can easily absorb higher prices are not immune. As Aja Evans points out, money
stress is not purely about dollars. It’s about control, expectations, and
uncertainty.
When prices
move unpredictably and keep moving upward, the brain registers a threat to even
those with exceptionally fat wallets. That sense that “something isn’t right”
can trigger an unhealthy stress response, regardless of income.
According to the experts, many people won’t
connect the dots. They’ll just feel more tense, more irritable, and more worn
down. They will have trouble sleeping. They will feel on edge at the checkout
aisle. They will feel constant anxiety without realizing that a steady stream
of financial shocks is what’s driving it.
But you know
who should be looking out for us to the best of their ability?
Our city councilors
− those Watertown residents in charge of spending our tax dollars.
Indications
are that the city manager has some very ambitious and expensive plans for the
near and not-so-distant future. Is it time for councilors to acknowledge that
business as usual is an unacceptable tone-deaf approach during these uniquely
worrisome times?
To be clear,
I am not suggesting that the city council offer a resolution calling for the
end of the war with Iran and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. If they did,
I’m sure it would get at least four flakey votes to pass it.
What I’m
suggesting is that they go out on the street and hear the alarm bells that are
ringing louder by the day.
Ring. Ring.
Ring.
Bruce Coltin, The Battle For Watertown
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