by Jack
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29 May 2019 – Feeling the pinch at the pumps? We hear you and for the local folks (Chico, CA) the cheapest place to buy regular gasoline is COSTCO @ $3.67. The most expensive retailers are Mobile, Chevron, Shell, Valero and 76. If you buy gasoline at these places expect to pay between $3.99 and $4.09 for a gallon of regular!
Corruptifornia is once again the absolute worst in the nation, this time for high fuel cost which drives up the cost of everything else. As of today, our average fuel cost in CA is $3.97 a gallon. This is high cost a akin to a heavy tax on the poor and middle class.
Can you believe we pay about 10% more for our fuel than Hawaii?!!
Part of the reason for our high fuel cost is taxation. We pay a whopping 30 cents per gallon in excise tax* and .05 cents in additional tax. That’s way out of line with other states. Ironically, we also pay an excise tax of 30 cents on tobacco and alcohol. We call this a “sin tax.” Apparently our liberal legislature must think that using gasoline is as [sinful] as drinking and smoking or is there a hidden agenda in play?
“In an 18-month-long NBC Bay Area and Maplight investigation found
the oil and gas industry paid $182 million to California politicians, PACs and political causes between 2001 and June 30, 2018.
For the past year and a half, the Investigative Unit worked with Maplight, a nonpartisan group based in Berkeley that tracks campaign contributions to uncover just how much money and influence the oil and gas industry wields in Sacramento.” There’s your hidden agenda Bunkie… California has the highest paid legislators in more ways than one.
*An excise tax is applied on a per-unit basis, generally per gallon for liquids, and unlike sales taxes are collected from the merchant who sells the alcohol rather than the end consumer. However, in almost all cases, excise taxes are passed on directly to the consumer in the form of raised alcohol or tobacco prices.
Here is how it breaks down for taxes and brother are we getting reamed:
Here is a partial list using the current nationwide average, starting with the most expensive to the least expensive:
- California 3.97
2. Hawaii 3.59
3. Washington 3.51
4. Nevada 3.46
5. Alaska 3.44
6. Oregon 3.41
7. Idaho 3.18
8. Utah 3.15
9. Arizona 3.11
10. Illinois 2.97
1. Louisiana 2.37
2. Mississippi 2.37
3. Alabama 2.42
4. South Carolina 2.43
5. Arkansas 2.47
6. Texas 2.49
7. Oklahoma 2.5
8. Tennessee 2.51
9. Missouri 2.55
10. Florida 2.56
Contributing to CA high fuel cost is a special fuel formulation that is designed to reduce hydrocarbons. However, according to a number of researchers this boutique fuel does not reduce emissions. Oil companies don’t care and neither do their friends in our state
legislature that are paid off in the form of campaign contributions. The special fuel formulation keeps out competition and allows the CA oil companies running 15 refineries to charge more! This is the real reason for CA’s costly boutique fuel, the reduction in pollution does not come from reformulated fuel, it comes from catalytic converters and fuel injection systems that improves efficiency (gas mileage).
From Globalwarming.com “Although combustion emissions from ethanol are lower than those of gasoline, production emissions from ethanol are higher. So much so that on a life-cycle basis, ethanol is the larger source of five different air pollutants: primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx), amonia (NH3), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and sulfur oxides (SOx).”
Oh by the way, CA has collected billions in taxes that were specifically to repair and expand our freeways, bridges and highways. Anyone know where these things are taking place? No, you haven’t anything out of the norm, same old stuff, a patch here and there? Well, isn’t that odd…then again somebody has to pay for a bloated state government, lavish state retirements, the bullet train, healthcare, education, housings, food, tax refunds, jails, etc., for illegal aliens and all the costs associated with the arrival of homeless from all over the US.
If you follow the money you will learn a lot about corruption in California.
You didn’t mention that in the next couple of months the tax on gas is going to go up another six cents.
You also didn’t mention Commiefornia’s cap and trade tax, a tax no other state has.
When you factor in the cap and trade tax that is applied to fuels, Commiefornia has by far the highest tax on gas and diesel in the nation.
The Demonrats in the state plan to outlaw the internal combustion engine. They know that will be a tough sell and won’t happen overnight, so their plan B is to make fuel prohibitively expensive.
You are right Joe, thank you for adding in the rest of this story.
And it’s even worse than that.
Electric cars are impractical and prohibitively expensive for working class people and poor people.
The Demonrats true aim is to cram us into high density urban housing and make us dependent on their cr@ppy public transportation, thus severely limiting our mobility and economic opportunity and of course making us easier for them to control.
Of course none of what they cram down our throats will apply to them. They will continue to live in their walled off mansions with the money they stole from us through their oppressive taxation and the hundreds of millions they’ve taken from special interests as their whores.
And if they can’t succeed at getting you into high density housing, they will just force you out of the state by raising as many other taxes as they can until you can no longer afford to live here. And it’s happening all over the state at the city, county and state level. Just look at Chico. Two bond measures on your home in 2016, a garbage tax a year later and the city and CARD are pushing for tax increases in next year’s election. It is never ending.
The politicians are parasites and are truly the enemy of the working class and poor and they are nothing but evil tyrants. And they will get their way because no one will stand up and fight.
Joe, I hear you and I respect your passionate patriotism more than you could know. The situation in which we find ourselves, especially in this state’s corrupt and ridiculous excuse for a legislature, underscores what Jefferson once famously said in the early 1800’s, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” The Irish politician John Curran said it earlier as, “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance.” But, no matter how or who said it, it’s true. This means the burden of responsibility still remains squarely on the voters. The people allowed the rascals into power and when we decide their presence is no longer bearable, the people will vote them out. Getting to that point will be painful. And it could be messy and bloody too, but this is a natural consequence of what happens when the people fail do their part and trust it all to the politicians.
A ballot measure change the Taxifornia constitution to require voter approval of all taxes and fees thought up by the Lunkhead Legislators might be very interesting . . . . . . .
But many are already voting by LEAVING Taxifornia!
JS, yep those that can and that have the vision are leaving. Their exodus has not been felt enough in Sacramento to make a difference, but soon it will. As rich as CA once was, the over taxation, regulation and corrupt spending will break this state. It’s been building since the mid-1980’s and if you do the math and make a few basic projections based on our current spending trajectory you will see when it’s going to implode. It’s obvious and in a way I hope I am still around to see it. This will be the ultimate form of accountability.