Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000 10:52:05 -0700 (MST) From: Nate Williams <nate@yogotech.com> To: Dennis <dennis@etinc.com> Cc: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Great American Gas Out Message-ID: <200003041752.KAA09600@nomad.yogotech.com> In-Reply-To: <200003041741.MAA15002@etinc.com> References: <20000304101212.A384@internode.com.au> <38BFEEA8.1A465CFC@softweyr.com> <59063B5B4D98D311BC0D0001FA7E452201313909@l04.research.kpn.com> <4.2.2.20000304091423.040b5590@localhost> <200003041741.MAA15002@etinc.com>
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[ Removed all but chat and the two posters ] > >This week, I traveled from Wyoming to California and discovered that > >gas prices were 25% higher in the Golden State than in the Cowboy > >State. Why? Because Californians "tax" themselves by requiring that > >everyone buy fuel with high concentrations of MTBE, an oxygenating agent. > >MTBE was supposed to reduce pollution, but in fact is a worse pollutant > >than oxides of nitrogen ever were. However, since only California > >refineries make gas with a high enough concentration of MTBE, Californians > >are locked into buying from these few sources and the price goes up. > >WAY up. Los Angeles will have $2.50 gas this summer. > > > >It's the same the whole world over. Energy policies and fuel costs aren't > >driven by markets or even common sense. They are controlled by big > >cartels, big government, and politics. > > I think you've been reading too much of that commie literature they have > out there on the West Coast. Gas taxes are designed to pay for roads and > highways, and you have lots more infrastructure in LA than you do in > Wyoming. The more you drive, the more you pay. Makes sense to me. This sounds good, except for the fact that Wyoming has the fewest people/capita of all states, and has more roads miles/person that all of CA. Therefore, their gas tax for roads is higher than that in CA. (Montana's gas tax is similar, hence my familiarity with it.) The reason gas is so expensive is CA is because a couple of refineries blew up last year, and due to the monopolies shared by the gas companies, there was no-one lef to take up the 'demand' when they quit producing. Demand stayed the same, production was reduced, price goes up. Simple economics.. Nate To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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