The unrest in the Middle East is affecting everything we do

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) - AAA says gas prices are the highest they’ve ever been at this time of the year. That price increase is getting passed along to you everywhere from the grocery store, to vacations and even pizza delivery.

It’s not just the pain at the pump that consumers feel when oil and gas prices go up. Those prices affect everything we do because of the cost of transporting the goods. That means the prices we pay from coffee to corn to all sorts of commodities can rise very quickly.

And if you’re planning a getaway, traveling by boat, train and especially airplane will cost you more.

Professor Michael Bernacchi from the College of Business at the University of Detroit Mercy says if we hit $4 a gallon, his calculations show the average family of four will pay $972 more a year on gas.

So far there’s been no disruption in the supply of oil but what’s going on in North Africa and the Middle East will have a direct impact on our economy. “It’s going to choke off the American consumer more or less,” says Bernacchi.