Why are gas prices in California higher than the rest of the United States?
The political class in Sacramento blame the oil companies, saying that they are “profiteers.” But it is those same politicians who are driving them out of business to “save the planet.” So, who is really to blame?
Maybe a recent decision by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a group of appointed, not elected, officials can shed some light on the subject.
This body is made up of people who are in lockstep with the Democratic Party mantra that all oil must be eliminated from our state. Of course, they all use products containing oil every day, and their previous regulatory actions have led to a shortage of power due to the shutdown of fossil fuel-fired power plants.
MSN recently reported that “in September, the California Air Resources Board, the state’s primary environmental regulator, reported gas prices will rise next year by about 50 cents a gallon and every year thereafter to aid in clean air efforts. The price increase does not include the existing gas tax in the state.”
For the last decade, there has been an unrelenting attack on the fossil fuel industry. There is enough fossil fuel under California to provide inexpensive fuel for the millions of vehicles on the road and power plants in the state, but naive politicians and environmentalists think that windmills and solar panels are the answer.
They also believe that electrifying the vehicle fleet is practical; of course, in a state as large as California, or any of the Western states, it isn’t, but that doesn’t matter.
Convincing people to convert to EVs voluntarily is another story; something had to be done to “convince” them, so enter the regulators. A conspiracy theorist might think that there is an all-out effort to strangle the motoring public into submission. I can hear it now: “If we make fuel so expensive, they will have to convert to EVs.”
Combined, the cost of regulation, like the one being proposed by CARB, previous regulatory action against oil producers, gasoline taxes, and the cost of transporting products from refineries in other states because so many production facilities had been regulated out of the state might be the reason for high pump prices.
One CARB regulator disagreed with the proposed rule change. Dean Florez is a member of the California Air Resources Board and a former state senator. In a Lompoc Record guest commentary, he wrote, “CARB has the opportunity to craft inclusive, accountable policies, but the proposal we’re considering Friday fails to protect both the environment and social equity. I cannot support it.”
CalMatters reported that state Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale, testified during the CARB hearing, “We’re the hardworking men and women here in the state of California. We build homes, we fix roads, and we serve you when you dine out,” Lackey said. “To do this, we must drive hours each day to work to put food on the table for our families. This measure before you will cause us financial pain.”
The next time you hear a politician complain that “oil companies are gouging the public,” all you need to know is how the latest CARB action will impact prices at the pump. It isn’t the oil industry that’s gouging the public, it’s Democrats in Sacramento and Gov. Newsom in particular who could put a stop to this nonsense but really don’t care how it will impact medium- and low-income households.
What’s hard to understand is why average families who vote Democrat in every election can continue to put these folks in office while their pockets are being picked by those they elect.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 8, 2024.