But I thought you have opposing big toes???
Unclear how the nasty greedy oil companies are to blame for this … but yes, elections matter. In CA’s case…we want these taxes…we love these taxes. We want more gas taxes…because we vote for those who impose them.
’ Taxes and fees
For every gallon of gas in California, we pay:
- 54 cents in state excise tax: among the highest in the nation
- 18.4 cents in federal excise tax
- 23 cents for California’s cap-and-trade program to lower greenhouse gas emissions
- 18 cents for the state’s low-carbon fuel programs
- 2 cents for underground gas storage fees
- An average of 3.7% in state and local sales taxes’
And this doesn’t even address our summer vs winter mix.
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All of those things, minus the 3.7% state and local tax equals $1.174. that’s a far cry from the $2.50 difference against the national average and other states do have additional fees on their gas so that $1.174 is not an accurate comparison. Where is all the extra gas price coming from in California? Greedy gas station owners? Gouging oil company executives. Higher labor charges in the supply chain? Higher rent costs for gas stations? Something else.
I’m not looking for you to answer just commenting off of your data.
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We are a load of ‘special’…
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/27/business/why-does-gas-cost-more-in-california/index.html
And I got a good laugh out of the last sentence in the quote…because Northern CA has the highest electrical rates in the nation…and a substandard grid…
’ today, there are only 11 major refineries that can produce gasoline that meets California’s specific environmental standards. Those 11 refineries produce 90% of California’s gas and diesel fuel, according to California’s energy department.
“The problem is that California is kind of segregated from the rest of the nation in its requirements for gasoline,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “A declining amount of refineries can produce to that specification.” And “if one of your refineries goes down, it’s a much bigger problem now compared to decades ago,” he said.
The issue may be temporary though: in 2022, California officially passed a law that will ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.’
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Thought this was interesting.
I bet people in California, close to the Arizona border, travel across and get gas there.
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Unclear? Yes, I’m sure gas prices have nothing to do with the fact that U.S. crude oil and Brent are up roughly 16% and 13% this year, respectively.
And OPEC and Gasprom have no effect either. Oil is a global market. But blame taxes.
The eastern section of the state, near AZ border is mostly desert, with few residents. The southern section of the border with Mexico has far more residents. However, there is less of a difference in gas prices between SD and TJ (average less than $1 per gallon difference), and there are many complications with crossing the border, which are likely to negate any gas savings.
Most things are more expensive in CA than elsewhere. Among the many things that do cost a premium in CA, gas is not high on my list of concerns. Other things that are more notable to me include:
- Income Tax – 9.3% tax for income above $63k.
- Homes – In my area, homes with a yard start at over $2M
- Property Tax – Not a high % of home value, but high home values mentioned above, make it large in absolute numbers. No longer deductible with $10k SALT limit.
- Home Insurance – High home value, high building costs, insurance choosing to leave the state for new policies due to facing legal issues in price increases, and wild fire risk results in high insurance costs
- Utility Costs – I have solar. If I did not, I’d pay the highest electric rates in the nation. Gas (home) and water prices are also quite high. Fortunately the moderate climate reduces heating/cooling costs.
- Food Prices – Food averages higher costs in both groceries and restaurants. The new $20/hour min wage for fast food isn’t helping. Dominos just raised the price for their large special for the first time in ~13+ years. The price increase only occurred in CA.
- General Cost of Labor – If you hire someone, there is generally a premium cost in CA, making costs well over the US average. This partially relates to a generally higher cost of living.
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I was just thinking the same thing.
Insurance companies pulling out of Ca is not unique to Ca. Red states such as Florida have the same problem. Insurance companies don’t want to sell insurance to homeowners who might make a claim.
Retired CCers who live in Ca can take sell their million dollar residence and move to a low cost of living state like Mississippi or Alabama. No one is forcing anyone to stay living in a state they strongly dislike.
I think some fast food operators are using the minimum wage as a reason to raise prices. I live in a city that has advertised wages at Panda Express of $23 to start. The price for a meal is the same as it is in the lower wage City my daughter lives in.
When my kids were younger I watched grocery prices and cut coupons and shopped at multiple stores. Now that it’s just two at home I don’t find it worth my time to drive around town.
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Florida also has issues with new home insurance policies, but largely for different reasons. Under CA prop 103, insurers cannot raise rates by more than 7% without being subjected to expensive public legal challenges. With COVID effects, home replacement costs have increased by far more than 7%. With being awkward to increase rates fast enough to keep up with replacement costs, most of the big insurers have chosen to drop or limit new policies for CA residents. It’s more profitable to focus on other states. High wildfire risks also make CA less desirable, as the cluster nature makes them more awkward to insure. The result is some persons purchasing new homes cannot find any reasonable cost insurance. In some cases, they cannot find any insurance at all besides the expensive state run policy.
I didn’t say I strongly dislike living in the state. I enjoy living in CA, particularly with the moderate climate noted above. Also note that persons with 7-figure homes who have been living a long time in CA are likely to face a large tax bill, as the home value far exceeds the $250k/$500k exemption.
That would only make sense, right?
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So OPEC and Gasprom have a DIFFERENT effect in CA where a gallon runs about $5.85 than those organization have in say…Arizona where it’s $4.74? Interesting.
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Do most CA cities have mass transportation available?
Many are already moving to Atlanta and Nashville.
No. SF has a workable system. But it’s not what it was in the 70’s-80’s when I used it as a reliable mode of transportation . IT’s gotten so grungy and sketchy in so many areas that when we visit we now use Uber. I’ve also found that sometimes Uber is cheaper (if you have 4 people who don’t have transit cards) than it is to pay for individual trips on the metro system.
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Taxes, market forces, etc. Oil companies can charge more here in the SF Bay Area, because our average income level is higher and we’re the 5th largest economy in the world.
I wonder why they don’t charge more around Wall Street in NYC then, etc? Keep telling yourself its because of something else.
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Or Washington DC metro area?
But perhaps it’s just all those rich folks in the Bay Area? (And nothing to do with the state closing refineries…)
California gas prices are spiking again, what’s going on?
Pain at the pump: Bay Area gas prices at least $2 more per gallon than national average
The West Coast is what many consider an oil island in that it is far from the main oil production centers of Texas, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast and those mega refineries down there as well,” Gross said. “And west of the Rockies it’s more challenging to build pipelines, so you tend to move product by rail and truck more than say east of the Rockies. So you also have higher distribution cost that factor in as well.”
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I think location can play a part. The most expensive gas in my area by over a dollar per gallon are near the local university. The stations are busy with mainly students who for whatever reason are happy to not drive one freeway exit where I can think of 4 stations that are amongst the cheapest in the area. That’s greed on the part of the station owners.