Gas tax
Thanks very much for the link, Earthling! I had heard many times gas wasn't taxed in the US; perhaps that occurs only at the federal level but states put a tax on it before it gets to you.

Food is most certainly taxed however - just because some food isn't taxed in NY state doesn't mean no food is taxed anywhere - nice try though.

Not taxing gas is stupid
I can qualify that statement by noticing that food is necessary for living, while gas is just one method of getting around - and a bad one. Toyota has readily observed that Prius purchases rise and fall with gas prices. If all it takes to get us to energy independence and cleaner air is higher gas prices, let's get those gas taxes up already.

Gas tax to pay for auto insurance
That's not a terrible idea, and could work if bad drivers still had to pay premiums. That way you still get punished for getting in accidents. But really gas tax ought to be spent on eliminating the need for gas - funding mass transit and electric vehicle incentives. It's just like cigarette tax - it's a tax that ideally should make itself obsolete.

Southern California's extreme gas prices
I think the reason for So Cal's extreme gas prices is lack of alternative transportation. If you look at California's high gas prices, they really center around LA more than anywhere, and they actually fall just a little bit... right in the middle... right where the subway coverage is.

If you shift to San Francisco, Oakland, or other No Cal cities, they all have effective subways and trains, and peripheral buses, to get you around - and gas prices are tamer there. But in LA there's no alternative - gas up the car and get on the highway. I think that when public transit is offered, there are people who will take it as a first priority, and then a secondary group who will only get on if forced to - for example, if gas prices have them angered. So demand falls with rising prices in every other urban area, but because LA's subway committee has their head up their butts, it's just going to keep rising out of control. Amazingly, in 1998, LA passed a law banning the use of local taxes on subway construction.

As an example, let's say I wanted to get to downtown without driving. I'd have to drive or walk 4 miles to an area with no public parking, and get on a bus which will sit in traffic just like I could have done myself. An hour later I could then get on the red line train, pass underneath a mountain, through Hollywood and finally reach downtown about 2.5hrs after I embarked on this endeavor. Now let's say from there, I wanted to take the subway to the airport - well, I couldn't really. The subway doesn't connect to the airport. Brilliant.

 

$2.98

 

Here's another wrinkle in the price of gas. According to today's LA Times the vol. of gasoline changes with temp. As the temperature increases (the baseline temp is 60 F), the volume of gasoline decreases. However, there's no compensation for this change in vol.

In the rest of the country, it's more or less a wash, because the volume increases as the temp falls below.

However, in Calif, the temp of gasoline in the underground storage tanks seems to stay above 60. So, guess what, Calif., you're loosing about .03/g according to the Times (Not just inflated prices but inflated fuel).

 

ahh......Nope.
The reasons for the discrepancies have been documented towards other reasons.

 

I can't say what the price of gas is in LA, nor for that matter even near the light rail line in downtown Long Beach. However, I did report 3.47/g in Newport Beach, which is about 40-50 miles from downtown LA (or maybe less). However, that section of NP (San Joaquin Hills Rd) is definitely a high rent district.

Someone earlier pointed out that Calif. has one of the strictest requirements for clean-burning gas in the nation.

Finally, there's the additionalcost of approx. .03/g as a result of the expansion of gasoline as a result of temperature.

And besides, nobody loves us. . .You love Arnie, you love Paris (Hilton). . . .

But all you guys out there just hate Calif.

 

Gasoline is taxed by both the Federal and State Governments.

The Federal tax is a fixed 18.4 cents per gallon.

Effective state taxes range from a low of 8.0 (Alaska) to a high of 42.4 cents/gallon (New York). (API March 2007)

The state taxes are complicated in that some states use a fixed amount per gallon, other states add sales tax, often there are environmental fees imposed, a few states index the tax periodically, and some local governments apply a tax either in the form of a sales tax or a fixed tax.

The best up-to-date recap of this is provided by the American Petroleum Institute.

http://www.api.org/aboutoilgas/gasol...-Tax-Rates.pdf

For those of us lucky enough to live here in Casper Wyoming the low price today is $2.76 for regular.

 

Well, that 2.67/g in Casper is good to know, as I'm passing through Wy next week on my way into the Black Hills and points E.

 

Was $2.88 Sunday in Cheyenne, WY.

It's about $2.95 in Northern Colorado at generic stations in the big cities like Denver. It's about $3.19 if you are out in the sticks.

-John

 

Just went from $2.79 to $3.09, in the last 2 weeks and to $3.15 this morning.

 

I love California! And Californians! But I'm very glad that I never drove when I lived there. Bicycles are king of the campus.

On my way to work this morning I clocked the gas prices at all the stations on the way (I'll probably need to stop for gas tomorrow or the next day, so I usually start checking prices the day before so I can be sure to stop at the cheapest station). Gas varied from $3.25 to $3.35 per gallon- a HUGE jump from when I last filled up, before my vacation, at $2.85. That's about six weeks ago, though.