A shockingly simple way to increase revenue, cause a shortage. We see this every year and no one seems to want to do anything about it. No other industry in America gets to artificially create a shortage to increase prices.
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@Richard Fleishman California imposes stricter standards than other states. Those requirements will always affect supply. The government can also temporarily suspend these requirements in order to import more gas from other states. The market is responding to government regulations.
Prices are not just going up in California, they are going up here in the Northeast as well. As another poster has suggested, it seems really suspicious that these refinery "problems" always happen at times when demand for refined products goes up, like the summer travel season or the start of the heating season.
Some call it "supply and demand" but it is simpler than that. The prices are raised because they can and the correct term for it is "price gouging".
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In California, it's the same story about the gas price spikes every time: "There were "problems" at the refineries (all, or nearly all, of them???). And these "problems" always happen just before the spring and summer when driving increases. I'm just glad I drive a Prius that over the past 49 months has averaged 51 mpg,
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Because it's the start of the driving season in the Northeast.
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California gas prices are a convenient sham and "shell game" for the state legislature, oil refineries and distributors. Oil could be trading at $3 dollars a barrel and CA prices would still be over $2.50 a gallon. The summer and winter formulas change, then there is a refinery fire, then a new gas tax is added for road repair that is never seen, then there aren't enough trucks to deliver fuel, then the unions strike ... bla bla bla ..
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One reason: the “man” in the White House.
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@Stephen This has been happening in CA far, far longer than the "man" has been in the White House.
It is actually Economics. Like most things in the world.
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@Stephen State gasoline taxes have nothing to do with the current president or any former President of the United States. It was the decision of the California legislature and signed by the governor of California.
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Considering the continual growth and spread of the homeless situation in California...why is nothing done to provide Section 8 housing or even temporary FEMA disaster homes or trailers in designated areas in the LA or SF areas. It appears that California is doing absolutely nothing to stem this spread of the homeless in tents, living in old cars and motorhomes on the public streets. Do the elected officials in California just not care? Are they not embarrassed?
@andre duvall They may be all of those things, but what would you do? How much Section 8 and FEMA housing would be needed?
Congratulations to all the Pulitzer winners across the state! Now if we could only avoid the fires that most of them got the awards for, that would be even better. Getting my rake out now.
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Re: gas prices. I've never understood why customers have to bear the brunt of the costs of shutting a plant down for maintenance - work that presumably keeps the plant running efficiently (i.e, profitably). Nor why we have to pay for PGE's mistakes. If I lose business because my phone service is disrupted, I can't sue the phone for lost wages. Why can't oil companies absorb the cost instead of passing it along to customers? I assume it's because we have no choice.
California, skip the high-speed rail - more public transportation funding to meet the real need.
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The same reason increased food costs are passed on from farmers to consumers when there is a drought.
Can’t beat economics 101.
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It's simple. Gas prices are high so that oil companies can make more money. Between state and federal taxes plus the additional charges oil companies add to each gallon. Gas has risen from $2.29 a gallon to as of last week $2.79 in NY in the last six months.Some weekly increases as much as .20 in one week. If you removed the state and federal taxes. Gas would be$2.00 a gallon.NY and California have the highest taxes in the country.
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