This Oil Chart Could Decide The Next Election

View this email online | Add newsletter@businessinsider.com to your address book
		Tech Entertainment Wall Street Markets Strategy Sports Lifestyle Politics Europe Video Latest Friday, March 23, 2012 CHART OF THE DAY: This Oil Chart Could Decide The Next Election Rising gas prices have appeared to immediately weigh on President Barack Obama's approval ratings, leading political analysts to question whether a further increase in gas prices could compromise his early lead in the 2012 election. This graph from Trevor Houser, a partner at the Rhodium Group and an energy and natural resources specialist, appears to suggest that the relationship between voting preferences and oil is incredibly strong. A chart plotting political analyst Charlie Cook's Partisan Voting Index against gasoline expenditures as a share of personal income demonstrates the tight relationship between how much voters spend on gas and how they vote. Houser explains that Republicans devote a higher share of their income to gasoline purchases than Democrats despite the fact that they actually pay less per gallon: "It’s not the price of gasoline alone that matters to drivers, but how much they buy. And while my parents in Wyoming get the cheapest gas in the country, they have to drive six hours each way to find a half-decent shopping mall." We can't assume there's a causal relationship between gasoline share of expenditures and voter preference (i.e. the trend line could just shift higher), there very well could be. Thus rising gas prices would eat up a higher share of consumer expenditures across the board, shifting the data set up and to the left along the trend line. The result: fewer Democrats, more Republicans. Probably bad for Obama. Read » Also On Money Game Today: 10 Reasons Why Obama's Nominee For World Bank President Is The Coolest Guy In The World GOLDMAN: The Entire 2012 Rally Has Been Driven By Just One Thing THE WORST IPO NIGHTMARE OF ALL TIME: BATS COMPLETELY WITHDRAWS IPO AFTER TECHNICAL DISASTER A Blatant Example Of How Corruption Is Destroying The Indian Economy Advertisement CHART OF THE DAY: This Is Why They Called It 'The Great Moderation' CHART OF THE DAY: This Is Going To Be A Peak Decade For Global Growth CHART OF THE DAY: China: It's Just Getting Started Share this: Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon LinkedIn The email address for your subscription is: dwyld.kwu.jobhuntportal11@blogger.com Change Your Email Address | Unsubscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe to the Money Game RSS Feed Business Insider. 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.