Gasoline May Rise Above $5 a Gallon

[apvbguy]

instead of raising the tax on fuel, how about spending the monies raised the way the money was intended to be spent? it is hard to believe the absurd calls to give the inefficient/corrupt government more of people's money to squander.

 

[AndyH]

... Or better (and stealthier) yet, perfect time to actually make it a tax -- i.e., a percentage of the retail price, as is the case with nearly every sales tax. So, rather than a flat fee of 18.4¢, just make it 8-10%, or whatever percent 18.4 is of the national average. Then sit back and watch the "road infrastructure" coffers fill up in the coming years when prices inevitably go up.

But that may not happen very soon.
Why don't we do the right thing for a change in the US and charge based on the damage done to the highways :?: :?:

The highways? Leave the highways for last - start with the air and our lungs!

A basic idea of environmental law is that the polluter pays. Bring it on.

 

[MikeinDenver]

instead of raising the tax on fuel, how about spending the monies raised the way the money was intended to be spent? it is hard to believe the absurd calls to give the inefficient/corrupt government more of people's money to squander.

From what I have read the ones spending it on other programs are the states not the Feds. From WSJ "Texas spends 25% of its fuel-tax revenue on education programs. Kansas has allocated some of its gas-tax revenue to pay for Medicaid and schools. Nationwide, making interest payments on debt used to fund existing infrastructure projects is one of the biggest state expenditures." and "States are allotting a growing share of the funds they raise from gas taxes to debt service and spending unrelated to roads and bridges, making them more reliant on federal assistance to pay for new infrastructure."

Maybe just read the whole article. http://www.wsj.com/articles/states-siphon-gas-tax-for-other-uses-1405558382

 

[dgpcolorado]

...And it is not fair or reasonable that I have paid ZERO to maintain the highways while driving my LEAF 23,000 miles over the last 43 months :!:

I was pleased when my state added an extra $50 annual registration fee for all plug-in vehicles. $30 goes to roads and $20 goes to a charge station grant fund (which paid 80% of the cost of the three public charge stations that were installed in my region last year). So, EVs aren't getting a free ride on roads around here. We even have a windshield sticker showing that the fee has been paid:

 

[Nubo]

The oil industry is such a huge part of this state's cash flow process, though, that people here are concerned about falling back into recession...

I wonder if the honorable Governor of Texas will take as much credit for the bust as he did for the boom?

 

[dgpcolorado]

The oil industry is such a huge part of this state's cash flow process, though, that people here are concerned about falling back into recession...

I wonder if the honorable Governor of Texas will take as much credit for the bust as he did for the boom?

No, quite the opposite:
In swan-song speech as governor, Texas' Perry touts record

Texas Governor Rick Perry gave his last major speech as leader of the country's second most populous state on Thursday, extolling a record of job creation and economic growth that has made him a possible 2016 Republican presidential contender.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

last fillup at $1.999 which is good considering we have the 3rd (sometimes 2nd) highest gas tax in the nation and really drives home the point I made a few years back that the state and feds should be taking this opportunity to raise gas taxes. Its not like they don't need the money and if it prevents one person from getting a gas guzzler they cannot afford to feed when gas prices go up, its well worth the time to make it happen.

 

[Reddy]

Here comes the price rise, just in time for the summer driving season:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudis-naimi-says-ready-help-182640873.html

 

[TomT]

With Iran getting ready to re-enter the market, it won't happen...

Here comes the price rise, just in time for the summer driving season:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudis-naimi-says-ready-help-182640873.html

 

[pkulak]

With Iran getting ready to re-enter the market, it won't happen...

Here comes the price rise, just in time for the summer driving season:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudis-naimi-says-ready-help-182640873.html

Iran? They are years out from making any meaningful contribution to the world supply. Even IF the sanctions get lifted, which is a huge IF.

 

[edatoakrun]

Anyone want to take a stab at estimating what $699 billion works out to, in terms of the American gasoline subsidy costs:

In dollars per gallon?

In gallons, per premature death?

The High Cost of Dirty Fuels

A new report from the International Monetary Fund makes a compelling case for why countries should end subsidies for fossil fuels: It would save millions of lives.

Governments subsidize energy in many ways. Some countries sell gasoline and diesel at prices lower than the cost of producing or importing those fuels. But by far the biggest way countries reduce the price of energy is by not taxing it enough to account for the damage that burning fossil fuels causes to human health and to the climate.

The I.M.F. estimates that calculated properly, energy subsidies will amount to $5.3 trillion this year, or 6.5 percent of the global gross domestic product. China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, will be responsible for nearly half of that amount, or $2.3 trillion, and the United States will be the second biggest at $699 billion.

The arguments for cutting subsidies are not new. But the I.M.F.’s exhaustive research makes the case even stronger and more timely. The fund calculates that by raising taxes on fossil fuels, basically eliminating the subsidies, nations would reduce premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55 percent. That would make a big dent in the 3.7 million premature deaths that the World Health Organization links to all outdoor air pollution for just 2012.

The climate would also benefit by reducing greenhouse gases. Eliminating subsidies, the I.M.F. estimates, would cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, by more than 20 percent a year. Another benefit would be to increase government revenue, which could be used to invest in health care, renewable energy, mass transit and other public services...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/opinion/the-high-cost-of-dirty-fuels.html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[smkettner]

pretty sure we are burning ~142 billion gallons per year. So $1 per gallon would only be a start.
I honestly think 10 cents per gallon should be added each year in perpetuity.

 

[epic]

just saw $1.56 per gallon here in Austin texas area

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

just saw $1.56 per gallon here in Austin texas area

prices dropping all over town except here. Still in the $2.15ish range and has been for months

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Heard on NPR that gas sales are up 6% so far this year on these low prices. Taxing it is problematic given our current government. Carbon pricing may be a viable alternative. See http://www.climate-xchange.org

 

[WetEV]

Revenue neutral carbon tax seems to be on track in Washington State.

http://carbonwa.org/

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Revenue neutral carbon tax seems to be on track in Washington State.

http://carbonwa.org/

Interesting. Similar to carbon pricing, both inspired by British Columbia. Would be interested to see how different state approaches work out.

 

[edatoakrun]

USA average price now $2 a gallon and falling:

Gasoline’s Sharp Drop Ignites Energy-Market Rout

The 7.6% decline intensifies the pain in the energy sector and sets up consumers for more savings at the pump

...U.S. drivers paid an average of $1.999 a gallon for retail gasoline Wednesday, according to AAA, down 8.9% from a year ago. In comparison, Nymex oil has fallen 30% in the past year.

Retail gasoline prices could fall 10 or more cents a gallon next week, analysts said, following sharp drops in wholesale markets around the country. That would offer additional savings to U.S. consumers, who already saved $134 billion at the pump last year compared with what they spent in 2014, according to Gasbuddy.com...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/gasoline-prices-set-to-fall-10-cents-a-gallon-1452114814

And how cheap gas is hurting BEV sales, other than at the high end of the market, where fuel costs are a relatively insignificant fraction of total cost of ownership:

Plug-In Electric Autos Left Behind in Record U.S. Year

Deliveries of electric-drive models slid 17%, Autodata says

Gasoline prices falling to about $2 a gallon crimp demand

Persuading car buyers to choose electric got more difficult as gasoline slid to $2 a gallon by the end of last year. The average U.S. retail gas price for the full year was $2.40 a gallon, down from $3.34 in 2014, according to AAA. Add to that starting prices such as $29,010 for the Leaf, a small car, and even with government incentives such as a $7,500 federal tax credit, winning over customers can be difficult.

...BMW sold 11,024 of its electric i3s in the U.S. in 2015, the model’s first full year of sales. Sales averaged 919 a month, a 21 percent increase from the previous year.

That’s an indication that luxury electric autos such as the i3 and Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model S sedan can expand sales.

Tesla, which sells only electric autos and in September began deliveries of the Model X sport utility vehicle, reported global deliveries of 50,580 vehicles for 2015, a 60 percent increase. The company doesn’t break out figures by country...

During an industry conference in Michigan last August, Forrest McConnell, president of a Honda dealership in Montgomery, Alabama, and a former chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, described the dilemma for automotive retailers by holding up a donut and broccoli as symbols of consumer choice.

If electric vehicles are broccoli, McConnell said, donuts represent cars and trucks powered by internal combustion engines, the overwhelming choice of buyers.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-06/plug-in-electric-vehicles-left-behind-in-u-s-autos-record-year

 

[mwalsh]

^ I was lying in bed last night thinking to myself that at $35 a barrel for oil gasoline should be retailing for around $2 a gallon, and (of course) around these parts (for various reasons) it's not.

 

[GRA]

^ I was lying in bed last night thinking to myself that at $35 a barrel for oil gasoline should be retailing for around $2 a gallon, and (of course) around these parts (for various reasons) it's not.

Yeah, it's gone up about $0.15/gallon over the past two weeks here in the East Bay, to $2.76 at my corner station, and $2.46 where I normally buy it. The usual suspects are being blamed, refinery problems etc.: http://www.sgvtribune.com/business/20160104/why-gas-prices-are-on-the-rise-in-southern-california