Practical Politics: For Immediate Release
Californians Pay Too Much For Gasoline
Benicia, California: August 27, 2003: Californians use 15 billion gallons
of gasoline a year. That amounts to 11% of all of the gasoline sold in the
United States. Regulation makes gasoline more expensive in California
than
in the rest of the United States.
I'm Ned Roscoe, the Libertarian Party's endorsed candidate for Governor.
Let's face the reality of the market and make California gasoline
price-competitive again!Every day, Californians pay about 50 cents a gallon more for their
gasoline
than if they bought the gasoline out of state. Californians pay about
$7,500,000,000 a year too much!Why?
* The EPA and the state of California set up unique standards for
California gasoline. This keeps refiners from shipping gasoline into
California.* No new refinery has been built in California since 1973. Regulations
have made it too restrictive and too costly to upgrade existing
refineries.
* Zoning restrictions have kept oil companies from building stations.
* The underground tank regulations forced small independent operators
from
the market. California forced competition out of the retail market, even
though California's government-operated tanks were the source of many of
the
worst spills.
* The Demand/Supply balance in California is too tight. Any small
disruption in supply causes prices to shoot up. Gasoline prices go up
immediately on a shortage, but decreases happen slowly.The State of California collected $ 2.8 Billion in State Gasoline Excise
taxes in 2002. In addition they collect an 8% sales tax on all gasoline
sales. When gasoline prices go up by $1.00 a gallon, the State collects an
additional $1.2 billion in sales tax.The State must eliminate laws that keep California gasoline prices higher.
When a disruption occurs, the market should react quickly by pulling in
gasoline supplies to solve the shortage. Any sensible Governor will make
this a high priority."We've made California a separate island for gasoline," says Ned Roscoe.
"Californians need to be competitive with the world. Shelling out an
extra
$7� billion a year imposes a needless burden on California consumers and
businesses. Let's change that!"***
Ned Roscoe was president of the Cheaper! discount grocery stores which
sold
cheap gasoline in California for 35 years. He is the Libertarian Party
candidate for Governor on October 7th. Mr. Roscoe is now the president of
Cigarettes Cheaper! More information is available from
www.NedRoscoe.com,