Gas hikes

Am I wrong or is the US economy too vulnerable to gas increases? I'm not sure if either the Republicans or Democrats have addressed the issue through their budget proposals or not but everytime you watch FNC the prices seem to have risen again. Fuel efficient green cars have become popular at least with the left and harping on about the keystone xl pipeline from the right was apparently shot to pieces by economists.
Putin tried to solve the same issue in Russia with thorough budget planning to protect the economy against such spikes, but you can decide for yourself how successful this has been.