You can generally trace the differentials in gasoline prices, state to state, to the politicians of that state. The good people of California are really upset about their current gasoline prices. California, Alaska, and Hawaii are already showing curb signs that top $5. Alaska and Hawaii can be explained by transportation costs. Their product comes in by tanker, not pipeline.
The politicians who run California(into the ground) aren’t satisfied with $5 gasoline, they want it to go up and up. They want their own special blend of gasoline. Rodeo Drive gasoline. Low-carbon gasoline. Their standard is borrowed from Europe. There’s a good place to build your state economy around. California is getting pretty close to Greece, so why not? The standards would assign carbon intensity value to roughly 250 types of crude oil. They set a goal to reduce the overall carbon content of fuels by 10% by 2020. Refiners will need to mix low-carbon fuels into what they sell to meet the cuts or buy credits to offset their excesses.
It is estimated this would add 16-19 cents a gallon at the pump. Cap and tax by any other name is cap and tax. Clever way to tax gasoline another 20 cents without calling it a tax. The sad thing is that California pioneered the emissions standard that raised the price of fuel a like amount 10 years ago. Not just in California, but across the country. The current emissions standard that became obsolete with knock sensors in newer cars, but remains despite it’s obsolescence. But, when gasoline prices go up as they have, we forget that little deal we got from our friends in California. As Californians forget. High prices are blamed on everyone except this little act.
If the country lets California do it to us again, shame on us. Let the state have it’s Rodeo Drive blend. More people and businesses will just leave the state. More refineries will just close in the state. The state will just get to their ultimate bankruptcy faster. You go California, just leave the rest of us alone.
