Governor Gavin likes gas prices high because filling up the U-Haul is one final reminder of why you're fleeing the state.
Daily Economy (5/23/25) op-ed: "California leads the nation in more ways than one — taxes, regulations, and, once again, gas prices. As of mid-May 2025, the average gasoline price in California is $4.85 per gallon, far above the national average of $3.26, according to GasBuddy and AAA. And it’s getting worse. A March 2025 study by USC Professor Michael Mische forecasts California’s fuel prices could spike 75 percent to over $8 per gallon within the next year. That’s not hyperbole — that’s the trajectory unless policymakers reverse course. The culprit? It’s not oil companies or global demand. It’s decades of state-level tax hikes, regulatory overreach, and misguided climate mandates that have warped the gasoline market in California...Supporters of California’s approach claim high prices are a necessary cost for fighting climate change. But what if those policies aren’t actually working? ...Meanwhile, low-income and working-class Californians are being punished at the pump while driving older, less fuel-efficient vehicles. This amounts to a regressive tax that hurts the very people politicians claim to protect. Worse, these rules don’t reduce global emissions — they just push energy production and refining out of the state and overseas, often to countries with weaker environmental standards."
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"The ending of many Inflation Reduction Act green energy boondoggles early, the ending of tax credits, and the promotion of nuclear power should help shore up the nation’s rapidly declining electric power system, while taking a load off of taxpayers."
– H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D.
The Heartland Institute
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