Spike in gas prices ignites election-year furor

San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate.com ^ | Saturday, February 25, 2012 | Carolyn Lochhead

[thecodont]

Washington --

A pre-summer spike in gasoline prices has ignited an election-year furor, with President Obama mocking presumed Republican "three-point plans for $2 gas," all of which involve drilling, and Republicans claiming that Obama's energy strategy relies on algae, pond scum and chicken manure, not to mention bankrupt Fremont solar manufacturer Solyndra.

Few things send politicians to the barricades faster than rising gasoline prices, which hit $4.20 per gallon for regular in San Francisco, according to the American Automobile Association. With pump prices posted boldly at every gas station, people tend to go ballistic over $4 gasoline while hardly blinking at paying as much for one cup of coffee.

[...]

Bad tax policy

Policy analysts, as opposed to policy makers, have long recommended a higher gasoline tax or a broader tax on carbon to encourage increased energy supplies of all kinds and energy conservation, while filling the U.S. Treasury instead of the treasuries of Venezuela strong man Hugo Chavez, Saudi royalty and other dictators.

The 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax was last raised during the Clinton presidency, Borenstein said, and has fallen sharply when adjusted for inflation.

"We're collecting more revenue through taxing work through income taxes, and less through taxing things like gasoline," Borenstein said. "So we are discouraging work and encouraging gasoline consumption, which is not good tax policy."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/24/MNIK1NC162.DTL#ixzz1nPlHEMm7

[thecodont]

Some election-year spin for BO, courtesy of the media.

[RetiredArmy]

JUMPED UP 8 more cents at the station down the road this morning. Now $3.63.9. Not long ago he was in the $2.80s.

[Paladin2]

""So we are discouraging work and encouraging gasoline consumption,"

True enough on the income side.

All sorts of gov't policies are raising the price of oil and hence gasoline without a direct gas tax increase.

Same with income. Alll sorts of gov't policies preclude employment and hence income tax revenue along with those who have gone Galt just based on Fed, State and Local income taxes.

[Graybeard58]

With pump prices posted boldly at every gas station, people tend to go ballistic over $4 gasoline while hardly blinking at paying as much for one cup of coffee.

I'm not acquainted with anyone who pays $4 for a cup of coffee, I must run in different social circles than the author.

[AtlasStalled]

I understand the election-year spin by the media for BO but I really don’t believe that most people will buy into it.

Most hard working Americans don’t listen to the crappy media (they’re too busy working or watching something more entertaining or in which they’re more interested), and when they fill up at the gas pump have a visceral reaction which can’t be massaged by the media.

The narrative against BO as an anti-oil guy is so strong that I think the high gas prices will be enough to defeat him in November, and unemployment still will be high enough to show that BO is not a good steward of the economy. People just know that BO is against drilling, against pipelines, etc., and no amount of spinning from smarmy Carney or the mainstream media can change that perception.

[Graybeard58]

With pump prices posted boldly at every gas station, people tend to go ballistic over $4 gasoline while hardly blinking at paying as much for one cup of coffee.

If they were compelled to buy 20 cups of $4 coffee per week, just to get to work they might blink a little.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The author is an idiot. It doesn’t take me 30 gallons of coffee to fill my tank and I definitely don’t pay 4 dollars a cup for it.

[jakota]

You may be right about the gas price. Almost everyone puts gas in their vehicle and it will be impossible for Zero to fudge the numbers at the pump, but those pesky unemployment numbers can and will be so fudged no one will have a clue what they REALLY are.

[unkus]

I’m not acquainted with anyone who pays $4 for a cup of coffee, I must run in different social circles than the author.

---

The author is simply trying to minimize the negative impact on Democrat politicians.

And I dont’t run in those social circles, either.

[A CA Guy]

Cheap is $4.59 by me and a block away it is $5.39.

[Bikkuri]

I remember when it was $.75/gal .. and the candy bars and sodas were a quarter each :/

And I am sure many here would remember way before that.. this is sad :(

[Eye of Unk]

I predict a surge of motorcycle purchases this spring, I already see a lot of Craigslist wanted offers for cheap bikes, makes my small collection of the CX500 and CX650 bikes worth more.

Also I predict more people will be buying travel trailers to park near where they work, especially those that commute in rural areas. I might do just that myself, my employer will allow my 23’ prowler to park at work, it would save me about $75 a week in fuel.

[EVO X]

I'm not acquainted with anyone who pays $4 for a cup of coffee, I must run in different social circles than the author.

Somebody is drinking $4 coffee. SBUX has gone from about $10 to $48 since the Mar 09 lows..

[Paladin2]

Remember that higher gas prices have a strong negative on real estate built a long ways from work based on $2 gas.

[VRW Conspirator]

...algae, pond scum and chicken manure

The "Barnyard" President?

[FrankR]

[Amerikan_Samurai]

It sickens me how the left doesn’t say squat about the gas prices while obama is in office, but when it was Bush he got all the blame for it.

[animal172]

“I’m not acquainted with anyone who pays $4 for a cup of coffee, I must run in different social circles than the author.”

You must not be someone who wastes their money at the left leaning Starbucks.

[Arrowhead1952]

people tend to go ballistic over $4 gasoline while hardly blinking at paying as much for one cup of coffee.

I am not the person who pays $4 for a cup of coffee. $4 worth of fresh ground coffee beans last at least half a month. The price of gas went up .02 yesterday in about two hours. I didn't want to cross three lanes of traffic and did my errands first so I could stop on the way home.

[Bluestocking]

Normal people tend to get angry when the price of gasoline skyrockets. So what does that tell you about the MSM’s pro-Obama journalists, who think there’s no reason to get upset when suddenly faced with an $80-dollar-plus credit-card receipt for filling up their tanks?

Imagine standing next to someone at a gas pump who’s smiling as he/she happily chatters on about the cheapness of gasoline, compared, say, to a cup of coffee or a month’s subscription to the New York Times. Everyone would look on in amazement — at least until they noticed the pro-Obama bumper sticker on the speaker’s car or his/her press badge.

[Mark]

I found this link while searching for an AP article concerning voters’ anger or Demoncrat leaders can’t do much-—this one popped up- from 2006 Just one paragraph in bold below(NY Slimes)

April 24, 2006

Democrats Eager to Exploit Anger Over Gas Prices

By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

Officials at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which advises House candidates, said they sent a memorandum to candidates on Thursday offering guidance on using the issue to their advantage. The memorandum includes a “sample statement” that recommends telling voters, “Americans are tired of giving billion-dollar tax subsidies to energy companies and foreign countries while paying record prices at the pump.”

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20060424monday.html

[TLI]

"We hear the same thing every year," Mr. Obama said about the Republicans. "Step one is drill, step two is drill, and step three is keep drilling."

"Well, the American people aren't stupid," the president said. "It's a bumper sticker. It's not a strategy to solve our energy challenge. It's a strategy to get politicians through an election."



Thats right. The American people are NOT stupid. And that is EXACTLY how you get a good supply of reasonably priced... anything.

Allow me.

"Step one is plant cotton, step two is grow cotton, and step three is keep planting and growing cotton."

"Step one is design cars, step two is build cars, and step three is keep designing and building cars."

"Step one is plant corn, step two is grow corn, and step three is keep planting and growing corn."

Sorry little bammy but that is not political strategy, that is how you keep a supply of cotton, cars and corn on hand.

However, little bammy's grand plan is spend 931 billion to "bio-engineer" cotton and corn to thrive on salt water and grow at the bottom of the ocean.

Or more to the point, spend yet ANOTHER mountain of our tax money to try and bio-eng green goo into oil instead of simply drilling a damn hole in the ground and getting all you need.

.

[RFEngineer]

“The 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax was last raised during the Clinton presidency, Borenstein said, and has fallen sharply when adjusted for inflation. “

These are the sacrifices our government must make for the sake of the country.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Some headline, Comical.

Here are some sample headlines if McCain were president.

“McCain Doomed by Crippling Gas Prices”

“McCain Faces Voter Revolt Over Gargantuan Gas Prices”

“McCain Facing November Gas Chamber Over Gas”

“Gas Soars as McCain Depression Lingers”

“McCain’s Big Oil Buddies Raking in Obscene Profits”

“Gas $5.00, McCain Doomed”

Must be nice to be a Dem president with your own propaganda arm. Must be nice.

[Libloather]

pond scum

Evolved Democratics? They may produce much more gas than I thought.

[thecodont]

Nice find!

[AGreatPer]

Somehow they are raising gas prices now to make it look good when prices come down close to election time.