California drivers — who probably ought to be pedaling a bicycle anyway — are paying the highest gasoline prices in the United States. The Associated Press reports drivers in the Formerly Golden State ‘enjoy’ gas at an average price of $4.03 a gallon, which is $1.18 more per gallon than the rest of the country pays.
Why, one would almost think Obama is still in the White House.
Naturally politicians have entered into the controversy. Gov. Gavin Newsom “wants to know why California’s gasoline prices are higher than in the rest of the country” and he hints darkly at “inappropriate industry practices” that probably include the desire to make a profit.
The situation brings to mind an old apocryphal criticism of the welfare system where politicians criticized the Welfare Industrial Complex by citing the story of the boy who murdered his parents and then was able to collect a welfare check because he was an orphan.
In this case, California is the orphan.
Even the AP, usually defenders of Big Government and government interference in the marketplace, is somewhat skeptical of the California politician’s newly discovered concern about pricing.
After mentioning Newsom’s suspicions AP pointed out there was no mention of California’s “higher taxes and tougher environmental regulations.”
That might be a clue as to the origin of the problem. As AP reported, “Higher taxes, along with a combination of tougher gas standards and environmental regulations, normally account for about 70 cents of that difference, said Gordon Schremp, a senior fuels specialist with the California Energy Commission. But the rest is a mystery.”
Leftist politicians have always had this strange conviction that taxes and additional costs imposed by government should be absorbed by public-spirited businesses instead of being passed along to the consumer. The fact the business might be operating with a low or nonexistent profit should be more than offset by the glow produced by ‘helping the environment’ or keeping leftists in office to distribute more free tax dollars.
But that’s not the way the real world works. Taxes and additional costs imposed by regulations are passed along to the consumer. In California’s case these include an additional factor, which is the special blend of gasoline bureaucrats there demand. It’s a blend required nowhere else in the U.S., consequently there is less of this particular concoction that is produced, which in turn means there is less competition and it’s easier to keep gas prices higher.
It’s also rich that a letter sent by 19 state legislators — 17 of them voted for higher gas taxes — was sent to the Department of Justice demanding an investigation.
If busybody legislators just decided to allow California drivers to use the same blend that’s good enough for the other 49 states the decision would begin to lower gas prices immediately. Instead the leftists prefer to investigate their local Petroleum Collusion Delusion.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.