根据美国汽车协会6月9日数据，美国普通汽油平均价格达到了每加仑4.99美元（约合人民币33.5元）。高油价正在影响所有美国开车的人，但低收入家庭首当其冲。这是因为，与富裕家庭相比，低收入家庭在交通成本和生活必需品（如食品和能源）上的支出占比更高。

 

For lower-income Americans, high gas prices can set off a cycle of hardship.

对于美国低收入人群来说，高油价可能引发一系列难题。

 

Driving the news: The daily US average national price for a gallon of regular climbed to $4.99 as of Thursday morning — a cent shy of the symbolic¹ $5 threshold, according to AAA.

美国汽车协会数据显示，截至6月9日上午，美国一加仑普通汽油均价攀升至4.99美元，比象征性的5美元门槛低了一美分。

 

Those at the top spent the equivalent of about 2% of their income on gas in 2019. That's the most recent year for which the Bureau of Labor² Statistics has survey data that are not skewed by weird³ pandemic behavior.

美国劳工统计局最新调查数据显示，2019年，美国高收入人群的汽油支出相当于其收入的2%。这些数据没有受到新冠疫情的影响。

 

Those at the lower end of the income scale devoted⁴ 8% of their after-tax income to gas in 2019. (Although many living in urban areas without cars are spared the expense.)

2019年，低收入人群的汽油支出占其税后收入的8%（尽管许多没有汽车的城市居民可以省下这笔费用。）

 

In 2008, when gas prices hit a record (inflation-adjusted) high, that group spent close to 12%.

2008年，当油价创下历史新高（根据通胀调整后）时，低收入人群的汽油支出接近12%。

 

This data looks at gas expenditures⁵ as a percentage of income. A more common practice is to slice the numbers as a percentage of overall household spending.

该数据计算的是汽油支出占收入的百分比。更常见的是计算汽油支出占家庭总开支的百分比。

 

It looks different that way: The lowest 20% of earners devoted 3.7% of their spending to gas versus⁶ 2.7% for the highest earners, per BLS.

这样数据就有所变化：根据美国劳工统计局的数据，占比20%的低收入人群的汽油支出占家庭总开支的3.7%，而高收入人群汽油支出占比2.7%。

 

Meanwhile, more recent data, from Bank of America, shows that Americans who earn less than $50,000 a year are currently spending nearly 10% of their credit card bills on gas, compared with 6% for households earning more than $125,000.

与此同时，美国银行最新数据显示，年收入低于5万美元的美国人目前的信用卡账单汽油消费占比接近10%，而年收入超过12.5万美元的家庭则为6%。

 

For those who must drive to work, higher gas prices are essentially⁷ a pay cut.

对于那些必须开车上班的人来说，油价上涨本质上是一种降薪。

 

"It can create a cascade⁸ of other hardships," said former Federal Reserve economist⁹ Claudia Sahm. If an increased share of your money goes to gas, you have to make painful choices about where that cash comes from.

前美联储经济学家克劳迪娅·萨姆表示：“油价上涨可能会引发一系列其他困难。”如果你的加油支出越多，就不得不在其他方面削减开支。

 

This comes at a time of rising food prices, which are also pinching lower-income households.

同时食品价格也在上涨，这使低收入家庭雪上加霜。

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