California Gas Ripoff (How Legislature could Immediatly lower Price 30 cents per Gallon)

California High School Conservative ^ | April 11, 2005 | Andy Nevis

[AVNevis]

Gas Prices in California hit a Record High Today of $2.61 per gallon. Most mororists just accept it. But they shouldn't.

The Legislature and governor could lower gas prices by 30 cents per gallon instantly. And no funds would be lost from the state treasury. For a more detailed explanation, we turn to Dr. Bill Watsenburg, the sole conservative over on KGO radio in San Francisco.

The 30 billion dollar robbery of California motorists through excessive gas prices over the last eight years can be stopped immediately. There is an easy, no-risk experiment that will prove this. Simply allow California motorists to use a small amount of the perfectly good federal reformulated gasoline (FRG) that the rest of the nation is using. It meets all federal clean air standards. It is available from refineries all over the country -- and right here in California. Gas prices in California will drop overnight to the national average. California refineries will soon be selling the special California reformulated gasoline (CRG) at the national average price for FRG gasoline. Ironically, California refineries make millions of gallons of FRG gasoline every day and ship it out of the state. Only California motorists are not allowed to use the FRG gasoline while the oil companies often claim shortages of CRG gasoline; and keep the prices high in California.

There is no reason in the world why our leaders in Sacramento should not at least try this no-risk experiment. If they refuse, it can only be assumed that they have more concern for excessive oil company profits than concern for the struggling families in California. This solution costs nothing. There is no degradation of the environment of the kind that Cal EPA and CARB bureaucrats created by putting the toxic MTBE in their so-called California reformulated gasoline. California working families are being asked to make great sacrifices to solve the state budget crisis. The governor and the Legislature cannot deny them some relief from this gas price obscenity.

And there is more on Dr. Bill's webpage. But you get the point.

Californians have to pay about 30 cents per gallon more in gasoline than the nation as a whole because we have to use a special California brand of gasoline, one that is supposedly more environmentally friendly.

Except that there is no proof that it is safer. In fact, it was this special gasoline that contained the chemical MTBE, which was found to be toxic. There is no evidence that the California brand is safer.

The reason that Californians have to use this special gas is that it makes the bureaucrats feel happy. It makes them appear to be doing something to reduce the air pollution in the state.

The Democratic-dominated legislature goes along with the bureaucrats. It boosts their public image. Again, it makes them look like they are doing something to improve the environment.

So Californians must demand that their legislators allow California to use the same kind of gas that the rest of the nation uses. And the Governor must be pressured on this too. He has been all too eager to get in bed with the environmentalists, he must understand that this change would not hurt the environment.

If Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez really wants to reduce gas prices, he should take on this issue instead of pushing to repeal the tax tax only to have it re-instated again after a period of time.

[AVNevis]

PING

[SierraWasp]

This is absolutely correctomundo!!!

Bravo AVNevis for posting this great hidden truth!!!

Jim... Haven't we got some kind of special recognition when brilliant young people like AV here come up with something this simple, insightful and powerful and backed by a famous Nuclear Scientist Conservative Talk Radio Host???

[garyhope]

Another instance of phony "envirnonmental correctness" run amok to the detriment of the consumer and truth.

[ServesURight]

BUMP

[calcowgirl]

Good post, Andy!

Let the truth be told!

[Dog Gone]

California refineries will soon be selling the special California reformulated gasoline (CRG) at the national average price for FRG gasoline.

I think you're wrong about that. It costs more to make CRG and the refineries would have no motivation to sell it at a loss. They simply wouldn't make it anymore.

[tubebender]

I wonder how much of that 30 cents is cya over potential cleanup cost of all the mtbe contamination in the state. Another hidden cost of mtbe fuel is a reduction of fuel mileage on most vehicles.

Here is a link to Dr Bill's column Cal Fuel

[AVNevis]

"I think you're wrong about that. It costs more to make CRG and the refineries would have no motivation to sell it at a loss. They simply wouldn't make it anymore."

I didn't write it. Dr. Watsenburg wrote it.

[Dog Gone]

Thanks for the clarification!