In addition to 40-year-high inflation levels, Metro Business Daily's latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that Americans will spend an average of $667 more on gas this year over last year. In Arizona, residents are projected to spend $784 more.

On April 1, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would release 180 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves over the next six months. That effort has slowly eroded gas prices. However, many Republicans blame Biden for the huge price hikes.

“The Biden administration has waged a war on supply and prices have skyrocketed,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said during a Senate Commerce Science, and Transportation Committee hearing. “This is not an accident. This is not Putin. This is Joe Biden and the Democrats and the Green New Deal and they're desperately looking for a political excuse to blame somebody else for the consequences of what they promised they would do to the American people.”

The Gas Misery Index tracks how much more or less the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline year-over-year. The index is compiled from data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), as well as fuel efficiency data from the U.S. Department of Energy and average miles driven tracked by MetroMile.com. Projections in Arizona have stood at or near $800 for the past several weeks.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.33 in January of 2021, when Biden was inaugurated. It has increased nearly 80% to last week's national average price of $4.14 (and $4.62 in Arizona), after reaching a high of $4.24 per gallon last month. A number known as the Biden Misery Index shows that the average American now spends $950 more on gas than they did when Biden took office.