Neal Kaye writes | Californians already pay the nation’s second highest gas tax at 68 cents a gallon — and now it will go up again in January to pay for a first-in-the-nation climate change law.
“I didn’t know that,” said Los Angeles motorist Tyler Rich. “It’s ridiculous.”
“I think it’s terrible,” added Lupe Sanchez, pumping $4.09-a-gallon gas at a Chevron near Santa Monica. “The economy, the way it is right now with jobs and everything, it’s just crazy.”
When gas prices go up, motorists typically blame oil companies, Arab sheiks and Wall Street speculators. This time they can blame Sacramento and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for passing a bill requiring California to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/27/california-hidden-gas-tax/
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Some notes: gasoline in California will be subject to California’s Global Warming Solutions Act tax (Schwarzenegger signed AB 32 into law in 2006) which will boost the price starting at $0.12 per gallon and could go as high as $0.76.
Right now, Hawaii has the nation’s highest gas prices, California is second. This new tax would make California the state with the highest priced gasoline and diesel fuel.
one more reason for business and the middle class to flee California.
Arnold signed the law to try to get along with Democrat supermajority for bigger budget reasons. He should have vetoed in hindsight, but the Dems likely had the votes to override. Still he should have put that booger on their fingers alone.
Flee California? I expect all residents of the USSA to flee to a more hospitable country – like China! Let those bureaucrats who make up fanciful taxes pay them in entirety.
Recent illegal immigrants to the USSA please note: You’re going the wrong way.
The baby boomers need this to finance their pensions?
Great news that the US is going to shackle its economy. Over here in the UK we pay around 9$ per gallon. It affects everything from food distribution to going to see relatives.
What you need is a nice big hike in the prices you pay for energy used in the home and business then we can really start to compete again with you in the world markets.
Welcome to the brave new world.
tonyb
Currently (by Google calculations) we in England pay about $9.80 per gallon.
Those are the low prices because of the supermarket price war over the Bank Holiday Weekend. It’ll rise again shortly.
And you’ll be paying more if you live in the sticks, anyway.
Jesus. Price war?
Here in Oz, they all Jack the price up on any public holiday weekend, the thieving wossnames. Obviously these UK supermarkets just don’t get the idea of cooperating to rip off customers like here.
Are you comparing prices of a real gallon with those of a US gallon?
Good point, I quickly googled so probably a real gallon.
My bad.
Ah, it’s good enough for a rough internet rant.
The Uk fuel price is £ 1.30 per litre of which £0.80 is tax ( combined fuel tax and vat)
There are 3.8 litres to a US gallon and the pound is worth 1.659 dollars
So in US terms the Uk fuel price is $ 8.19 per gallon of which $ 5.04 is tax
Yeah but in California a high percentage of people commute a couple of hours daily.
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/commuting-costs-california-car-costs-real-estate-and-commuter-culture-california/
“A 40 mile one way commute is likely costing you $11,100 per year.” At $8.00/gal were talking $22,000/y
Yes, but those in California who voted for the administration can use their promised $1500/year Obamacare medical insurance saving to offset their higher fuel costs. Oops that never happened.
It may not make sense to our friends from other countries, but the tax on gasoline and diesel varies significantly from state to state. See below for each State:
http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/industry-economics/~/media/Files/Statistics/StateMotorFuel-OnePagers-July2014.pdf
The gasoline tax in NJ is about half that of California at 32.9 cents/gal and we do not have to pump our gas, in fact it is illegal.
Just for the heck of it, let’s look at “…A 40 mile one way commute is likely costing you $11,100 per year.” At $8.00/gal were talking $22,000/y…”.
I assume these are pre-income tax numbers, so given a CA marginal tax rate of about 40%:
o $11,000 after-tax requires a pre-tax $18,333
o $22,000 after-tax requires a whopping pre-tax $36,666
In the Brave New World all will be equal and since we here in the “colonies” have further to drive and you blokes don’t have as far to go, petrol prices will be adjusted according to a new International Standard. If CA is our most expensive fuel at $4/gallon and the US is ~37 times larger in area compared to Great Britain then you all will be getting a UN mandated tax to increase your cost to £23 p56 / per litre to pay for the luxury you have of being closer together. Aren’t you glad you brought that to the attention of the politicians and bureaucrats?</sarc>
your lucky in Australia you will pay from $1.60 to $2.00 a LT
Just remember that the EU average price is 2x that of California.
Many people travel 100+ miles to work every day.
The state is also grounding thousands of big trucks because their engines are outdated. I foresee the capital building becoming a truck parking lot in protest. Park ,lock, and leave. (Already in the works)
I read awhile back where some of the politicians in California were saying that low income people couldn’t afford the new carbon tax on gasoline. It seems their solution was to spend most of the money generated from the tax ( I assume after they take a generous cut for the state) to refund back to low income people in the form of tax credits.
So they want a tax to give to low income people that can’t afford the tax. Wouldn’t it be easier just to not have the tax? Oh wait, that would mean they wouldn’t get their cut of the loot.
There is no tax on Social Security. If that is someone’s sole source of income (and for many people it is) how can they benefit from a tax credit?
they get a refund check when they file their 1040. same for Earned income tax credit. A low income family of 5 can pay $2000 in tax on W2 wages and stll get a a $4000 refund. It’s called redistribution.
Up to 85% of Social Security is taxed depending on other sources of income
As Vice President, Al Gore went to the Senate to end the deadlock by casting the deciding vote which applied the income tax on 85% (versus 50% previously) of Social Security Income. In my opinion the 50% was probably fair for those whose employer paid matching 50% of their SS tax.
And now you know the real reason for energy taxes. Wealth redistribution. Spread the wealth. They won’t be satisfied until we are all equally destitute.
And while the bureaucrats perform this redistibution plenty of the money stays with them for their fat salaries and enhanced pensions – this is exactly how we ended up with a bloated state in the Uk
Always seems to go pretty well for the Congress critters…
Hey Richard. That sounds like Gordon (Pension snatcher) Brown’s Tax Credits here i the UK – Tax all the workers, even the low paid, then make them claim it back! After taking a cut for all the civil servants that had to be recruited to administer it, that is……
It does sound similar Joseph except for the nickname. The Brown in California is known as Governor Moonbeam, who was preceded by The Governator. The politics there read like a bad Hollywood script similar to The Producers.
UK petrol TAX is $5 per US gallon.
Absolutely no sympathy here.
US consumers less than just about anywhere else in the world for gas.
Venezuela is an obvious exception, where the price of gas is only 15-20 cents per US gallon. The subsidies this costs the state are just another factor, in addition to goofy economics and politics, that are helping to bankrupt this nation.
So since you pay are artificially high price you want everyone to?
How many UK’s can fit in California, and how far do you commute?
I love how some people actually believe that being beaten less by your master is some kind of blessing.
I’m guessing you believe that everyone’s taxes should be obscenely high?
For what it’s worth, you have my sympathy. Instead of congratulating our capacity to keep at least some of our taxes low, we in the USA are again at fault for caring about the economic impact that high fuel prices play in the welfare of our poorest citizens. It’s no wonder we still price the stuff by the gallon.
The government gets more than the Gas Station owner, or the oil companies, and you pay. The commodities go up as a result…Food, clothing – everything…
So the summary opinion so far of UK, EU, and Australia residents, is you haven’t been shafted by your government(s) anywhere near as badly as we are by ours, so stop whining and take it.
This is as opposed to asking the tough question of why you continue to allow your own governments to get away with it.
We do occasionally. See list of fuel tax protests:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_protests_in_the_United_Kingdom
However, the UK Government invented the fuel tax escalator that just raised tax a little every year until the next public disorder – then there was some let off until next year when they tried again.
As everything needs to be right to tip people over the edge, we kept going up.
The escalator has been paused for a while due to other pressures on UK household income. But the tax has been empirically pushed to the limit, already.
The fuel tax escalator is actually a good case study in how to raise taxation.
SOME UK, European Soviet Union, Australian residents, Kadaka. I’m in UK and believe in as low taxes as possible – reduce the state and save billions, is my motto.
Leigh says: August 29, 2014 at 2:02 am ….. “And Dudley, reducing CO/2 emissions for what?
CO/2’s up and temperatures are down. If there is no warming, why are we reducing CO/2 with a tax?
The original excise on petrol was supposed to pay for road construction and maintenance. So why add another one? Take away the taxes (excise, CO/2 and GST) and petrol is cheap.”
As I pointed out, you need high taxes on fuels to pay for the roads. The current excise which is supposed to pay for the Interstate and other highways are totally insuffient so that the Highway Trust Fund has run out of money. With the proceeds from this tax the California government can provide money to cities and counties to help them with repairs to roads, bridges, etc.
The reason that current taxes have not done what they are supposed to do in fixing roads and bridges is that governments (of all colours) have been frightened of the voter reaction if fuel excise is raised – just see the comments on this site. So the fuel excise has been kept down. And add the fact that as traffic grows, more and more maintenance is needed. And to top that, the real value of the excise has decreased due to inflation. Your dollar of 25 years ago can probably now only buy what used to cost 25 cents. Check CPI changes over the last 25 years.
So the needed tax increase is hidden in a “carbon reduction tax”. Like it!
Dudley, I wasn’t aware that the money would be used for road projects. I know that Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County have instituted 1/2% additional sales tax in the past, which they have used for road projects in lieu of raising the gas tax.
tango says: August 29, 2014 at 12:19 am “your lucky in Australia you will pay from $1.60 to $2.00 a LT”.
Actually the local price has recently ranged from 142.7 to 163.9 cts per litre. Excise is 38.7 cents per litre, and stupid politicians are screaming about an increase of about 1.0 cents per litre.
Just think that while the tax is nominally going to assist you in reducing CO2 emissions, what it will really do is to provide money to pay for the roads you have. Think – could be worse – our local rates or sales taxes could have increased instead. You’ll just have to take – and enjoy – public transport. Thank your lucky stars that SF still has its tram system, and Los Angeles is busy putting back light rail and streetcars, while San Diego and Sacramento aready have light rail systems.
Aussie prices at AUD $5.60 / gallon (around USD $5.30) – if you think the tax the government takes is really going on anything other than feathering their own nests, and paying for a ridiculously bloated government, you should have a look around our capital city Canberra sometime. Acre after acre of brand new housing estates.
Eric, at $1.50 litre multiplied by 4.55 ( litres in 1 gallon)
I reckon its closer to $6.80 a gallon.
About in the middle of the US and England.
And Dudley, reducing CO/2 emissions for what?
CO/2’s up and temperatures are down.
If there is no warming, why are we reducing CO/2 with a tax?
The original excise on petrol was supposed to pay for road construction and maintenance.
So why add another one?
Take away the taxes (excise, CO/2 and GST) and petrol is cheap.
I’m assuming US gallons – 3.7 litres = 1 US Gallon.
UK Gallons are 4.5 litres.
Don’t worry, I had to look it up too 🙂
I’m so confused.
Don’t forget about the GST (consumption tax or VAT) on top of the excise tax. And there’s there is “world parity price tax” on local production and then there’s the taxes the oil companies and forecourt operators pay on profits and earnings.
Today Melbourne prices were $1.38 a litre for unleaded. which is around US$ 5.24 for a US Gallon. Less for Ethanol.
$10.25c here in New Zealand a gallon.
Gesture politics at its worst. Whilst it will have no effect on CO2 it will weaken California’s economy, drive employers away and cost jobs.
It is hard, but not impossible, to find an honest politician but even some of those seem to have been inveigled into the alarmists’ parallel universe where the GIGO from models is more real than real-world factual data.
Far too many of the world’s poor and starving suffer daily at the hands of these self-glorifying and self-styled ‘Eco-warriors’ who put their religious belief in AGW ahead of any other.
US $1.29 a litre in China, but it covers annual vehicle registration as well. The more you drive the more you pay as road tax. I don’t drive that much so I save a bit.
I moved from UK to US in 1998. At that time in California gas was $1.20/USgal. Up the road in Washington State it was under $1/USgal. I saved around $250/mth out of my salary, almost enough to cover groceries. I moved to New Zealand in 2013 and when I left gas cost 4x that (+$4/USgal). I now pay around $10/USgal equiv ). I just had to cut down on the groceries!!:(
You never ever cut down on food. Your brain needs the energy to think it’s way out of a problem. Unless, of course, you are really fat. That’s another problem.
We’ll, I do agree. However, I still need to travel to work to earn a living before I can even think about what’s left for groceries. Maybe I need to think about alternatives. I have a neighbour who chops down his trees to keep warm. I could follow his lead as I see a lot of folks doing the same. Need to get in quick as the local council is looking to ban the new install of wood burning stoves!!!
I remember my grandfather having a fit back in the mid 70’s when he couldn’t find a single station that was selling gas for less than $0.25/gallon.
[Snip. Invalid email address. ~mod.]
I remember going on vacation out through the Western half of the US in the early 70’s and saw 10cent/gallon gas wars in TX, OK, NM and AZ. When I got my license gas was 32 cents a gallon… less than half of what CA’s new tax is!
MarkW
I remember in California gas was 23 cents, unless you wanted to upgrade to Ethyl, which was 27 cents.
when the oil embargo hit in the mid 70’s we were paying 50 cents, that is if you wanted to wait in the long lines that would stretch for blocks around the station.
Gas tax? Talk about regressive! You have people with the carbon footprint that a 10,000 square foot house implies, and this impacts them nearly none at all, on a percentage basis. Meanwhile the brunt of the tax (percentage-wise) is hoisted squarely on the shoulders of those people who invariably have the smallest carbon footprint – – all in the name of reducing CO2! Congratulations on that logic. That logic is nearly as good as the logic that says stop them from using coal, so they go and cut down forests for fuel – – for the sake of the environment.
In a Way administration, that noise would get turned around.
Those who run the asylum have such great responsibility that they are entitled to all those luxuries that they expect the rest of us to pay for.
In Australia, taxes are currently about USD 2.30 per gallon.
In Australia, taxes are currently about USD 2.30 per gallon.
the US and Cali get their fuel so much cheaper than Oz.
One US gallon here costs about $6.45 in AUD, or $6.05 USD.
We wet-dream $4 / gallon.
68 cents per gallon? Call that a tax?
Here in the UK we pay fuel duty on our petrol, which more than doubles the cost of the basic product. We are then charged value added tax at 20% on the total cost, i.e. we are being made to pay a tax on a tax.
Now that’s a government who knows how to screw the driving public…
As I said below, “screw those taxpayers like you mean it!”
There have been plenty of “climate change” predictions over the years and most have eventually been documented as flops. Now I’m curious. Has there actually been a single one that has taken place? “Climate change” activists are welcome to contribute. Please.
Arctic ice has declined.
Glaciers are (in the main) shrinking.
The world has warmed since the industrial revolution started.
It’s warmer now than any other time on record.
Yes, I know the Little Ice Age (and the real one) accounts for all of that but the AGW fans do have some real world observations that fit their theory.
(Is this on topic).
On topic, but off message 🙁
World sea ice is increasing
Some, not all, glaciers are shrinking (Rebound – whatever that means- from the LIA)
The world has warmed due to the rebound from the LIA (see above)
The temp records are fixed – proved beyond dispute many times here on wuwt – including the 2012 ‘gamechanger’ http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/29/press-release-2/
It all a matter of keeping your focus 😉
Thanks.
I though the prediction was that Arctic ice and glaciers would have disappeared by now.
Backwards assertions are not predictions.
I would reply but according to past predictions my home is on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and my computer has shorted out from sea water intrusion.
The state has substantial public debts. If they claim the tax is there to help the environment, then less than 100% of tax payers in the state will be angry. So it makes sense.
Unless the CA tax excludes the trucking industry, all semi-trucks will have to pay the tax. Most use the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) along with a “base” tax jurisdiction. See CA’s FAQ if you need more:
http://www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/mciftafaqs.htm
Simply put, everything in CA will increase in price and not just the fuel put into the family car. One unknown is whether campanies that do lots of online sales (think Amazon) will start seperating shipping costs by state. If they don’t, then that means non-California residents will be footing part of the bill for the California carbon taxing silliness. For example, will Prime Amazon customers pay more or will Amazon eat the difference?
Over time residents will start demanding higher salaries so that they can afford to buy groceries again. This will force companies to start charging more to make up for the new expenses.
As a result more companies will decide that the cost and hassle of being in California just isn’t worth it.
If you look at Amazon Prime pricing carefully, you will discover that it is (at a minimum) higher when you log on to your Prime Account than when you shop annonymously…. I would think that the price that appears on your Prime account will soon factor in higher delivery costs by location, if it doesn’t already.
But, but… How else is the Governor going to pay for his bullet train thingie?
http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/16/calif-to-use-cap-and-trade-to-pay-for-high-speed-rail/
I looked at that link and I saw a Quote from California state senator Bob Huff. “You’re enacting policies to make California unnecessarily expensive, drive people into poverty and then propose new government programs to subsidize their life in poverty”.
We have driven up the price of fuel. Now let’s subsidise it!
Some folks can only learn by taking lumps on the head. So we’re beginning to see lots of lumpy heads but still no learning. Hopefully the learning will start soon.
This is fantastic. Anything I can do to further California’s insanity just let me know. Petition drives…whatever. The anti-civilization legislation that is routinely enacted in that state is mind numbing and still the Boxers and Pelosi’s and the boneheads in Sacramento keep getting reelected. Nothing better than bankrupt ideology on display. California gets the leaders they deserve. Good for you California save the planet.
A solution that won’t work, for a problem that doesn’t exist.
This is what the government calls a win-win tax. If CO2 levels drop as a result of this tax then the primary goal has been reached. But if CO2 levels go up and tax revenue also goes up then the secondary goal has been reached. Arnold was brilliant.
My old turbo diesel Mercedes runs beautifully on cooking oil – rapeseed is favourite – that can be obtained for 75p – 99p per litre, as opposed to pump diesel at £1.36 – £1.40.
Sometimes if there’s a BOGOF on locally, it can be had at around 50p per liter.
In Canada many folks with diesel cars and trucks run them using home heating oil. It’s just diesel fuel without the road tax added after all. Some rural gas stations illegally sell home heating oil at the pumps. Sweet.
In British Columbia, heating oil is priced the same as motor fuel for that reason.
Oil heating has been eliminated.
In Washington State the same is happening as in B. C., Heating oil costs $1200 for 300 gals. 150 gal minimum. 5gals of kerosene is $44.00 at Lowe’s.
Higher gasoline taxes -> less people. Easy way to solve the water crisis!!!
Note: No water crisis in San Francisco [Pelosi’s home district]. She exempted her region from water use restrictions.
We thought that California would fall into the sea; instead it is being depopulated and turned back into a desert.
You guys aren’t working it right. In the UK you get 20% added to that tax as an extra tax: ‘Value Added’ Tax on tax!
Screw that taxpayer like you mean it!
I’ve never thought about it in these terms before, but it occurs to me that I’d rather live in Cairo freakin Egypt than California in this day and age.
That’s pretty sad.
Nowadays in Cairo you could likely get away with wearing a sidearm and keeping a full-auto AK in the house, to protect your family, without begging and subtly buying with influence hoplophobic bureaucrats for permission. Rent is probably cheaper too. If the high speed internet access is good, sounds like a great idea.
Just keep the RPG’s in a closet on a high shelf, those are for special occasions.
Harold Fine now drives a Tesla S, the Rodriguez family always knew how to optimize vehicular economics, so what’s the problem?
tesla S costs about $80,000. tesla gets a gov credit of about $30,000 per car sold. Without those tax subsidies from the middle class, those well-off buyers of a Tesla would be paying almost $110,000 for that overpriced sedan. welfare for the uber rich green liberal. No one has a Tesla as their only car either. It is just rich kid toy to show off to friends and neighbors.
Groovy.
There are some places that don’t rape you too bad on fuel costs. I live in Penang, Malaysia. I’m previously from Seattle about 12 years ago which is very car-unfriendly. Over here we pay 0.64USD per liter so that works out to 2.45US per gallon.
But import cars face a tax of 100%-200% over the cost of the car when imported. So a Lexus RX350 runs about 107,000USD to purchase.
The annual road tax on a 3L car costs 675USD per year.
One way or another they get you.
But the speeding fine for 100mph (160kph) is about 90USD.
I have no sympathy. This is precisely what Californians have been wishing for, now they are getting it. I love it!
Yes.
The 2010 election season is ramping up! In California, those who envision a more sustainable future are paying attention! Proposition 23 is on the ballet with the goal of suspending California’s ground-breaking Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).
Not only did they wish it, they confirmed it when they didn’t vote down its repeal.
In other news, the IRS / Administration doesn’t want it reported how many people want to leave / relocate out of these type of conditions.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/28/Obama-s-IRS-Delaying-Release-of-Stats-of-People-Moving-from-High-Tax-States
“Neal Kaye writes | Californians already pay the nation’s second highest gas tax at 68 cents a gallon —”
Luxury! We in the UK dream of only paying 68 cents per US gallon. As previous posters have already highlighted, we pay much, much more than that.
That’s just the tax. But you’re right, most other places in the world pay more than the US does.
Interestingly, we motorists in the UK also pay a ‘greeny inspired climate tax’ to prevent the world from boiling up to unprecedented levels. This taxation is in addition to petrol duty. It’s called annual ‘vehicle excise duty’ (VED or road tax), and is based solely on the volume of CO2 spewing from a car’s exhaust pipe.
Ironically, my 1998 2.5L V6 (potential classic) pays £238.00 pa – which is £47 less than the £285.00 VED than my wife’s 2006 1.6L 4 cylinder pays. This is because the current scale of VED charges (based on CO2 emissions) only applies to vehicles manufactured after March 2001.
All this CO2 nonsense doesn’t, of course, take into account driving style, recent age of the car or the annual mileage of a vehicle. So, a 2014 registered 1000 cc Fiat that is thrashed to the limit and does 50,000 miles in a year pays less VED than a 2002 registered 4.5L V8 Range Rover that is driven sedately and covers 7,000 miles in a year. The taxation law is fickle.
What ever happened to democracy? What we have is an elected dictatorship being controlled by an unelected dictatorship.
In a Democracy the people drive themselves to the polls, vote, and then take orders. In a Dictatorship, the people don’t have to worry about the inconvenience of driving to the polls to vote, saving gas.
California’s Liberal Democratic lawmakers have already began their damage-control campaigns. A letter addressed to to CARB’s chair-heathen, Mary Nichols signed by at least 16 assembly members across the state, desperately pleas for a “reconsideration” of The cap-and-trade program that they originally supported. Of course the passing of the buck onto the RINO former Governorator should be an easy sell to their uneducated, low-income, and mostly immigrant constituencies. Continuing the perpetual corruption, it seems Governor Moonbeam is up to his own shenanigans as well.
“The letter highlighted something not well known: ‘AB32 does not mandate that CARB create a program that generates revenue for the state and it was not intended to be a funding mechanism for massive, new state efforts at GHG [Greenhouse Gas] reduction.’
Yet in the new state budget for fiscal year 2014-15, which began on July 1, Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature grabbed $250 million of cap-and-trade funds for the controversial high-speed rail program. That’s 25 percent of an expected $1 billion in cap-and-trade revenues.”
Everybody loves irony, but nobody likes to pay for it.
Washington State is on the verge of implementing a very simliar tax. I guess Inslee has been inspired.
This pretty well destroys the Myth of second hand smoke:
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/28/16741714-lungs-from-pack-a-day-smokers-safe-for-transplant-study-finds?lite
Lungs from pack-a-day smokers safe for transplant, study finds.
By JoNel Aleccia, Staff Writer, NBC News.
Using lung transplants from heavy smokers may sound like a cruel joke, but a new study finds that organs taken from people who puffed a pack a day for more than 20 years are likely safe.
What’s more, the analysis of lung transplant data from the U.S. between 2005 and 2011 confirms what transplant experts say they already know: For some patients on a crowded organ waiting list, lungs from smokers are better than none.
“I think people are grateful just to have a shot at getting lungs,” said Dr. Sharven Taghavi, a cardiovascular surgical resident at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, who led the new study………………………
Ive done the math here and this is how it works out with second ahnd smoke and people inhaling it!
The 16 cities study conducted by the U.S. DEPT OF ENERGY and later by Oakridge National laboratories discovered:
Cigarette smoke, bartenders annual exposure to smoke rises, at most, to the equivalent of 6 cigarettes/year.
146,000 CIGARETTES SMOKED IN 20 YEARS AT 1 PACK A DAY.
A bartender would have to work in second hand smoke for 2433 years to get an equivalent dose.
Then the average non-smoker in a ventilated restaurant for an hour would have to go back and forth each day for 119,000 years to get an equivalent 20 years of smoking a pack a day! Pretty well impossible ehh!
What does this have to do with this post?
You should have put this on tips & notes, rather than threaded comments on an unrelated story.
This is a tax hike, nothing more. More specifically a use-tax hike, the more you use the more you pay the government. They can dress it up as “Global Warming feel good we are saving the world”, but the bottom line is it just more taxation, this will have zero effect on the climate.
This is the house we built.
They need to start posting a tax breakdown on gas pumps. The public would find it very educational.
For anyone interested, here is the list of combined state and federal gasoline and diesel tax assessments by state. Hawaii and California (as stated elsewhere here) are the highest, and Alaska and New Jersey (New Jersey?) are the lowest. California’s neighbor, Arizona, comes in at the low end of the list and 37.4 cents per gallon.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States.
Tucson AZ: unleaded regular 87 octane was about $3.22/gal Thursday. driving up to the north rim of the Grand Canyon this 3day weekend about 900 miles RT. my hybrid gets 37 mpg so my fun will cost roughly $80 in gas. beautiful scenary for hiking and trail running, priceless
Note that Diesel fuel is taxed more than gasoline, thus discouraging the purchase of higher efficiency vehicles.
The total tax on diesel is 1 cent more per gallon than gas in California.
The National average is about 6 cents per gallon higher for diesel
http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/industry-economics/~/media/Files/Statistics/StateMotorFuel-OnePagers-July2014.pdf
The 20- 30 cent higher cost for diesel is probably due to the ultra low sulfur mandate from the EPA which required significant investment in the refining side of the business which many smaller refineries could not afford. The other factor may be competition at least where I live since very few stations offer diesel.
I looked at a diesel car but could not justify the extra cost especially with the much higher fuel cost.
Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and has no refineries. All the fuel has to get there on tankers. So, I can understand why Hawaii’s fuel prices are high.
But California? What’s up?
Just wondering…
special blend requirements during winter that only CA based refineries make. also limits competition from out of state suppliers.
Hawaii has 2 refineries.
Yes, but two refineries can’t offset the progressive politics similar to the tax and spend policies in California. To be fair, California is one of the major oil producing states while I suspect Hawaii must import all crude via sea.
Since I only know what I read, I suggest a read of this newly arrived book:
http://cleanenergypundit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/tyger-growl-knowing-of-burt-rutansince.html
Best currently available reality check IMHO
Love to see the liberal heartbeat of the USA (California) beat their voters over the head with the policies that they pushed to get elected. Unfortunately the innocent voters who tried to keep them out of office get beat also.
I have been purchasing gas in the SE USA for several weeks @ just over $3.00 / gal. Yesterday it was less than $3.00 many places.
The government of Venezuela got carried away with gas tax increases a few years ago. Gas stations started igniting. The tax disappeared.
Reblogged this on Public Secrets and commented:
This state has gone mad. We’re doing everything to drive prosperity away in pursuit of “progressive” fantasies.
About 25 years ago when I occasionally bought gas for close to $1.00 a gallon (once for $ 0.87 when traveling through Kansas) I was in favor of increasing the federal tax on gasoline in order to pay for repair of our crumbling infrastructure of bridges, tunnels, and levees. Fast forward. Gasoline now costs $3.00 to $4.00 a gallon, the tax was not increased, most of the repair was not done, and now the California tax increase will pay for what!?
Wow, so glad to live in the boondocks of central Alberta. Just heard Premier Christy Clark of British Columbia bragging about her carbon tax (hello Mr. Eiger). Good for her. Regular fuel is C$1.50 per litre in Vancouver, C$1.35 to C$1.40 per litre in most of the interior although there are a few stations in Price George have a little gas war where the price is C$1.25. If you live near the US border, you can slip across the line and buy for C$1.08 per litre.
In Alberta, the price ranges from C$1.10 to C$1.16 at the moment, though it will likely jump by 10 cents a litre this long weekend at most places. A lot cheaper to run a tractor out here.
Around here, many stations do post the amount of tax on the pumps if people care to look. Not that we can do anything about it. Death and taxes.
Obviously, being a California import, I was completely against AB-32, as well as the suite of laws passed since to bolster and expand its premises (SB-375, SB-535, SB-1136, AB-26, AB-278, AB-904, AB-1532 etc.).
However in 2010, Californian’s were given a chance to stall AB-32 under Proposition 23. They smacked it down. Now I am completely opposed to doing anything at all to roll any of this madness back even a smidgen. While I am still in California, I will join any group and actively proselytize to not only prevent any changes to this madness but exhort politicians to do even more, as much as possible.
Why? Because the stupid should hurt.
I won’t be here much longer though. In fact, my car should be sold within the week (an SRT8). I will take my RAM 2500 and my off-road teardrop trailer and run the backtrails of the west I know so well for as long as I can hold out or until I can find a job in another state.
Californian’s are like granola. What aren’t fruits and nuts are flakes.
This is one of the many reasons that I have just moved to Texas.
I left California for Texas 21 years ago. Best move ever.
Proposition 23 ” paid for by Texas oil companies”,the tv ads claimed.
After the election the SF Chronical did a story that the anti 23 ads were actually paid for by Morgan Stanley.
Ironic because 60 Minutes called them the “worlds largest oil company”
your gas cost is CA will go up further once we build the northern gateway ans no longer have to sell our oil at a discount to the us
It’s a STUPID tax. If you are stupid enough to live there, you deserve to pay the taxes.
Steamboat Jack would remember Watts, Eschenbach, Svalgaard, and Charles the Mod all live in California and they likely don’t like being called stupid.
Oh, and Mosher is there too.
Reblogged this on Sierra Foothill Commentary and commented:
I have written about this issue before and now others are joining the chorus. However, the question is any one listening? The people I ask, are clueless about AB-32 and the gas price increases. Readers of this blog should know about the price increase, but what about their friends and neighbors?
All the oil produced will still get burned. The decline in demand (which will probably be very small) in California will be matched by the increase in demand by the rest of the country. The politicians have no understanding of energy, science, or economics. Some energy use will just get shifted from the drivers in California to the projects funded by the tax. Most likely the free market would make more efficient use of the energy than the government intervention, but the follow up analysis won’t be done. These taxes and regulations are really driven by the politician’s (and the big money psychopaths controlling them) infatuation with government power. Every problem real or imagined is a convenient excuse to take power from the people and give power to the government.
Anybody ever thoght about alternatives? Ethanol, LNG(Liquid Natural Gas) or LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas)??? When you run a car t h a t much as 100miles/day commuting, you certainly wouldn’t mind spending approx. USD 4k on a conversion to LPG- and you get it for less. Many forklifts already have it! The dutch, namely Prins, are making top-quality high-end kits.
During the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, which caused a scarcity of gasoline and diesel in certain countries, many light/medium duty trucks and forklifts in the U.S. were converted to LPG using fuel regulators supplied by Impco. The converted trucks were commonly called the gutless wonders because of their lack of horsepower, but the forklifts relying on torque rather than speed did well and are the preferred method of fuel to this day.
There are Class 8 trucks being sold in the U.S. currently that are run on LNG. I don’t know if they have the same issue of being underpowered as the previous light/medium trucks did with LPG, but both LPG and LNG are considerably cheaper per gallon than gasoline or diesel in the U.S.
A picture paints a thousand words. More sometimes.
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx