I filled up for the first time in a month Sunday night. Quite a shocking experience it was. The sight of the posted price even prompted a rare (I assure you) expletive-deleted type response. Holy something or other, I believe. Forgive me, but I've been away and my new morning commute stretches from my bedroom to my living room. I don't get to the gas station much anymore. This is probably why in listing reasons for the president's unpopularity, I overlooked this glaring, and perhaps primary, cause.

At the DC service station where I filled up, gas costs $2.88 per gallon--for the cheap stuff. Nationwide, the average cost is less expensive: $2.61. When I left for my trip, the average price per gallon stood at $2.36. A year ago, prices were on the wrong side of a $1.80. Notice a trend?

Hawaii, home to the costliest gas ($2.86 per gallon) in all fifty states, will institute price controls later this week on gasoline sold wholesale. Such drastic measures haven't been in effect in the U.S. in nearly a quarter century, when they led to long lines, shortages, and other maladies. The fiftieth state is the first state in gasoline taxes, which make up 53.5 cents of the price of every gallon sold. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, state office holders didn't explore gas tax reductions as an option to lessen the burden on Hawaiians.

Price controls? Middle East problems? Skyrocketing gas prices? Those who refuse to remember the 1970s comdemn the rest of us to repeat them.

My understanding is gasoline taxes make up a large portion of the price of gasoline in all states. I would suggest cutting the taxes on a gallon of gasoline to lower the price. Unfortunately I don't know where we will find anyone in the government who will do this.

That pic of the 70s gas lines reminds me of stopping for gas on the New Jersey Turnpike during rush hours any day of the week.

Yeah, how much extra do you pay for gas so that some Jersey-mutant can fill up your tank?

It is interesting that some states (New Jersey comes to mind specifically) “insist” that you can’t pump your own gas. Only if you are asleep do you believe that this doesn’t cost more at the pump.

Truth is our energy policies, especially pertaining to oil, have been mismanaged for decades. The public just seems to be helpless and hanging on as the pols and the producers have their cozy little arrangements.

Truth is, with the continued (albeit, partial) development of nuclear, solar, wind and water power, we do in fact us less oil now than we did thirty years ago and many power plants have replaced burning oil with natural gas.

There is no shortage. Problem is that our government and the oil industry have been lax about exploring and drilling new reserves as foreign oil has been relatively cheap and more environmentally correct for us.

Bottom line is that they don’t care what Joe Taxpayer pays at the pump. At least until somebody needs to get re-elected.

Bush could always do what Clinton/Gore did when the Lewinsky King was finishing up his second term and Gore needed a bump in the polls: sell our military reserves to the public on the cheap.

I've made the DC-Boston road trip more than 50 times, and very early on I wanted to avoid getting gas in Jersey because I suspected it more expensive than neighboring states because of the law requiring that attendants pump your gas. My suspicions proved incorrect. Time and again, Jersey's gas was cheaper than Maryland's, Connecticut's, and Massachusetts. It's counterintuitive, but for whatever reason--at least on the turnpike--Jersey's gas is generally more affordable than the gas of the other states on that trip. Oregon also, I believe, has the no self-serve law.

Bottom line is that they don’t care what Joe Taxpayer pays at the pump. At least until somebody needs to get re-elected.-ASDF
I completely agree with you there. These politicians dont have to pay for their gasoline anyway, Joe Taxpayer does. Thats the biggest reason the elites dont give a $hit about Joe Taxpayer. Also these tree-huggers are stopping us from drilling in the Alaskan refuge, which would free up billions of gallons of oil for us to use, therefore dropping the price of gasoline. I hate hippies.

Must have been timing as my travel to or through Jersey has been infrequent. But I distinctly remember prices being higher there than they were in the more extreme Northeast or in neighboring states.

Always considered that it was the cost of employing the surly Al-qaeda trainees that bumped the prices up ever so slightly.

Yes, our elected elites don't mind telling us we have to pay more and "conserve". But, they certainly don't mind driving around in government provided SUVs that consume government provided gasoline. Sky's the limit when using our dough.

And phonies like Mr. Environment Kerry telling everybody that, yes, he does use SUV's but that they belong to his family and not to him personally. Lot of Clinton in him.

Gore's was (and is) another one.

http://www.globalwarming.org/article.php?uid=316

I agree, government should cut taxes on gas. But, on the bright side, gas here is still not as expensive as it is in Europe. It cost me 70.00USD to fill up my rental car last time I was across the Atlantic. The exchange rate didnt help either.

Another by-product of Globalism: We are now competing for oil with China and India whose assembly and manufacturing machinery are sucking up resources on the world market at an incredible rate.

So, not only are we exporting jobs to these countries, but now, as they need more fuel to run their economies, we are in direct competition with them for that fuel.

Additionally, as they are developing a middle class around these booming economies, that middle class owns and operates more automobiles, which run on gasoline that we are now also competing for.

Bit of a sticky wicket, what?

Dan, the last line of your post seems to indicate that Bush is responsible for rising gas prices.

Unless I am misinterpreting you, I would like you to explain how Bush's Middle East policies are responsible for the primary cause of the skyrocketing oil price, that is to say, the rapidly emerging Chinese market?