AT THE PUMP

Rick: Blame Gas Prices for Recession

'They were spiking in 2008, that's a fact.'

Speaking in Michigan Monday, Rick Santorum said high gas costs took too much money out of the pockets of homeowners, prohibiting them from paying their mortgages and thus sparking the financial collapse. It’s a pet theory that’s not found much favor among economists, who point to subprime mortgages as the reason the housing bubble burst. Even Santorum backpedaled when pressed by reporters, saying, “I said that was a factor. I’m sorry. I’ll make sure I’m much more specific when I talk.” And though Santorum seems to be the first to hypothesize that gas prices were at the root of the financial crisis, he’s sticking to his guns: “They were spiking in 2008; that’s a fact.”