Calif. gas prices more than double in 8 years
April 28, 2012
By John Seiler
The following chart I made from GasBuddy.com, which also lets you find the cheapest local gas prices. The chart shows gas prices in three areas for the past eight years. Note that Los Angeles (blue line) and San Francisco (orange line) usually have the same prices, with S.F. sometimes a little higher, reflecting the high taxes and extra regulations of the Pyrite State.
By contrast, Houston (green line) prices are markedly cheaper all along. True, Texas is an energy state. But so is California. We just restrict development and refining here because we are creating an eco-utopia in which everyone will drive cars powered by perpetual-motion machines to the High-Speed Rail system.
It’s too bad the chart doesn’t go back 13 years, to 1999, when gas gas 99 cents a gallon or less even in California.
Governments at all levels and the eco-elites want us out of our cars and into mass transit. The high prices punish people who want to live in the dreaded “sprawl” of the suburbs. Nice homes and cars are reserved nowadays for the governmental, bureaucratic and “1 percent” elite. Especially in California, the middle class is being destroyed by taxes, regulations and artificially high energy prices.
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I know some folks who are putting sticky notes on the gas pumps that read something to the effect “I can barely afford gas anymore. Thanks for that ‘hope ‘n change’, Obama!
As we approach election day watch the gas prices start to drop. Notice that all the rhetoric against Iran has slowed down? heh. The price of gas is a total manipulated effort by the government. Sactown loves it since when gas prices go ^^^^ so do the state taxes that you pay. It’s a backdoor way to get into your wallet. I predict gas prices under $3.25/gal on November’s election day. Then if Obama is reelected he will drop the hammer on ALL OF YOU in 2013. Trust me on that. He has nothing left to lose at that point. Gas prices and taxes through the roof!!! He must – or else he must slash spending (defense, social security, medicare and welfare). He won’t cut. It will all be head fakes. I can read these systers like a cheap paperback. I’ve lived too damn long!
If prices are up….capitalists try to minimize expenses by streamlining/increasing productivity and find ways to maximize revenue through better products and services.
Market fluctuations are healthy for the economy..consumers and producers alike…raising the standard of living immensely…
Those who parrot the negatives of our economic system are informative….smart producers take this info and turn it to their advantage honing their business skills, decision making, risk assessment.
So get with it….make things happen….droning and grinding and moaning about capitalism is negative….period!
“Market fluctuations are healthy for the economy..consumers and producers alike…raising the standard of living immensely…”
So high gas prices are good for us.
Meanwhile in other news:
War is peace;
Freedom is slavery;
Ignorance is strength.
Praise be Obama!
So get with it….make things happen….droning and grinding and moaning about capitalism is negative….period!
Ah Queeqster, you’re such a joker. Now you know we don’t have capatilsm in the country. You what we have here is corporatism.
or else he must slash spending (defense, social security, medicare and welfare). He won’t cut.
You misspelled offense. Obammie will never cut the Empire.
Bob, if Obama gets reelected we are screwed beyond belief. It would be bad enough if Willard won but Obama is a walking disaster. He’s supposed to be a constitutional scholar and even taught constitutional law at major law schools. The imbecile had the nerve to say that if the SCOTUS overturned Obamacare it would be an ‘unprecedented’ ruling. I guess the dumbass never heard of Roe vs. Wade or Marbury vs. Madison? There are several more as well. After I heard about that it really resonated in my mind that the guy’s a total fraud. He has to be. It would be the equivlent of a lawyer who claimed to be a defense counsel who specialized in and taught criminal law not knowing about Miranda vs. Arizona.
If he slips through the cracks this nation is done, Bob. As a lame duck he would destroy us. There would be nothing to stand in his way. He has already indicated that he is going to make full use of his ‘executive powers’. These are very scary times. From his 2008 campaign we already know he is an inveterate liar. As much as I can’t stand Willard – I hope and pray he can knock him off.
Beelzebub says:
Sactown loves it since when gas prices go ^^^^ so do the state taxes that you pay. It’s a backdoor way to get into your wallet.
But this is not what happens. usually when gas goes sky high the taxes coming in go down, because people stop driving, especially discretionary driving on vacations.
queeg says:
If prices are up….capitalists try to minimize expenses by streamlining/increasing productivity and find ways to maximize revenue through better products and services.
And nearly all consumers cut back on discretionary driving.
“But this is not what happens. usually when gas goes sky high the taxes coming in go down, because people stop driving, especially discretionary driving on vacations”
Looks like L.A. gov’s share of the gas tax for 3 mos ending Sept 30/2011 went up over 17% from the same quarter of the previous year as gas prices rose. If it went up for L.A. by that much I assume it went up for other local gov’s and the state gov too. Gas prices skyrocketed which means that sales tax revenue went up accordingly. While some recreational driving probably slowed – people still have to get to work and run routine errands. I suppose most vehicle mileage consists of runs to work and routine stuff. Plus, the big trucks and commercial vehicles that use lots of fuel have to run in order to make money.
Read this about L.A.:
“The city’s share of gasoline sales tax rose nearly 17.8% to $12.6 million for the three months that ended Sept. 30 from $10.7 million in the year-earlier quarter. That accounted for 13.3% of the city’s revenue from all sales taxes, according to the Los Angeles city administrative officer. Sales taxes in general account for 4.5% of the city’s revenue”
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/29/business/la-fi-gas-taxes-20120329
That amounts to more than $10 in taxes for a 15-gallon tank of gasoline.
Hey, the scam of scams continues
“We have always found it extraordinarily offensive that there is a state tax applied to a federal tax and another state tax,” Coupal said. “If you go up to anybody and tell them that, they are incensed.”
Taxing the state and fed gas excise taxes w/ a sales tax should be illegal.
Huge scam. 80% of the gas prices is pure manipulation. Easy way to raise taxes w/o a vote.
Don ‘t drive be happy!
I just read that the student loan interest rate was supposed to double from 3.4% to 6.8% effective July 1st. This is no surprise. It’s been in the works for well over a year. The market adjusts. But the students are complaining, of course. It will affect 7.4 million of them. Now democrat congressman DICK Durbin has proposed a bailout for the students. DICK wants to keep the interest rates artificially low @ 3.4%. Word has it that the money changers will steal health care money to fill the gap so that women won’t get their mamograms and the elderly won’t get their health concerns addressed. These student hypocrites peeve me off as much as the banksters do. The students were whining when the bankers got bailed out – and now they are asking for the same damn thing! You see, EVERYBODY wants in on the scam as long as they profit from it. THIS IS THE REASON THE EMPIRE IS DESTINED TO COLLAPSE AND FALL!!! As long as I get my free crap all is well…..but don’t YOU take any!!! That’s not fair!!!
The only way to solve this is to do what John Galt practiced. All young people must BOYCOTT student financial aid and higher education. REFUSE to let Mr. University President and Mr. Bankster turn you into a debt slave.
Now the scam is to rob Peter to bail out Paul.
As the brick wall gets closer and closer……………
This man said it best:
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”
– Frederic Bastiat –
“The Law” should be REQUIRED reading for every American School Kid. California is past the tipping point and the End is nearing fast. It should only be a few short years before we see Bankruptcy for Cities,Public Pensions,Municipalities,Counties…If not sooner,But it will be the NORM very soon. Back to the main point of the article, Government at all levels have been pushing hard and spending Billions on Mass Transit, while at the same time doing everything possible to TAX and REGULATE us out of Personal Transportation, So I say embrace the Idea and Pass My Simple Amendment to the Constitution::
” All Public Employees and Public Servants in the State of California, Shall reside within the city and the community in which they serve and shall be PROHIBITED from using any Personal Automobile, Motorcycle, or any other means of mechanical transportation other than an unpowered Bicycle or Public Transit for Transportation to and from their respective Official Workplace.”
Most of Societies problems solved in one fell swoop. No more of 80% of the Police and City Employees of Los Angeles living in Simi Valley and Santa Clarita. Last Count had over 6000 Police officers in Simi Alone. Virtually all from various agencies in Los Angeles County. They Should be required to live in the Filth they created and use the same transportation they want for US.
The gas prices are kept up at the pump for one reason and one reason only, TAXs the more gas you have to buy the more taxs the state gets, YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK The price of oil has come down a lot but has the price at the pump? There should be a big investigation on the artificialy inflated of gas prices here in california.
Am I the only one who feels that there is a large amount of price goniugg going on. The taking advantage of the fact that we have no say on how much we use,, we dont make the cars,,and thoiugh we try to avoid thelong drives,,and traffic,,we are still expected to bare the cost, and responsibility. We all know that expecting thegovernment to actually do,,or even say anything that would upset the fuel providers is rediculous,,their revenueis only benifited by the fact the price goes up. The government do something to reduce,,or control their ownincome,,fat chance. This whole thing is nothing but profiteering,,,using any and all outlandish excuses toraise prices,,,