Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
State and local taxes do not make up a significant portion of fuel prices in most states. In Texas, state and Federal gas taxes are 38.4 cents per gallon. California is about $1.18, but 39 cents of that is for some environmental fees, including 2 cents per gallon for the underground storage tank fee that is used to clean up underground tanks, and to help businesses that have a tank spring a leak. That fee sounds reasonable to me.
I will say that gas taxes need to go up, perhaps significantly. In Texas, fuel tax revenue has been flat for almost 20 years, and barely covers the cost of road maintenance, much less construction of new roads. At the same time, a way to tax electric vehicles for road use needs to be developed, so that those drivers pay for using the roads. I am getting tired of people complaining about roads at the same time they demand fuel taxes be reduced. That's a definition of hypocrisy.
I assume your solution is a GPS is every vehicle that broadcasts one's location 24/7 to the state, right?
I assume your solution is a GPS is every vehicle that broadcasts one's location 24/7 to the state, right?
I don't have a solution yet, and am not going to fall into the "you just want everyone to be tracked and controlled by government" trap.
How would you fund roads if a significant percentage of vehicles don't use fuel that can be taxed? The roads will be built and will be maintained one way or another, whether the funding comes from general taxation or from usage based taxes.
California refiners jacked up the price claiming it was the heat wave. Temps dropped but the prices did not. Much of the western US gets gasoline from California not cheaper places like the plains and gulf.
I don't have a solution yet, and am not going to fall into the "you just want everyone to be tracked and controlled by government" trap.
How would you fund roads if a significant percentage of vehicles don't use fuel that can be taxed? The roads will be built and will be maintained one way or another, whether the funding comes from general taxation or from usage based taxes.
Gasoline is taxed at POS. EV power can be taxed the same way. Make every EV fan have a smart meter attached to their home charger. They want to improve the environment, right? It's a small sacrifice (and a small cost) to save the world.
I can't say I feel any sadness watching Californians suffer.
Yep. I live here. I still don't get why people vote in these dummies and then constantly complain about paying $6/gallon. CA is a hostile environment for the O&G industry, an industry that brought incredible wealth to the state in the 20th century. The LA basin was a huge oil field. CA is in the process of eliminating nat gas stoves and nat gas heaters in favor of electric (which will be imported from neighboring states to meet demand, LOL).
I live in a market that has the highest utility rates in the nation.
Gasoline is taxed at POS. EV power can be taxed the same way. Make every EV fan have a smart meter attached to their home charger. They want to improve the environment, right? It's a small sacrifice (and a small cost) to save the world.
That's one option for sure, and likely one of the easiest to implement. It's probably easier to do on public chargers, for home chargers, there would have to be an extra piece of hardware, probably like a smart meter. Not sure what can be done for Level 1 portable chargers that plug into a regular outlet.
It's not all about saving the world. California still has air quality issues to solve, and EVs are part of that.
Yep. I live here. I still don't get why people vote in these dummies and then constantly complain about paying $6/gallon. CA is a hostile environment for the O&G industry, an industry that brought incredible wealth to the state in the 20th century. The LA basin was a huge oil field. CA is in the process of eliminating nat gas stoves and nat gas heaters in favor of electric (which will be imported from neighboring states to meet demand, LOL).
I live in a market that has the highest utility rates in the nation.
Oil and gas also brought air quality that was horrifically bad, not just in LA, but in the Central Valley as well. In the Central Valley, the original steam generators ran on crude oil or diesel, and spewed huge amounts of crap into the air. The newer steam generators are gas powered, or the steam comes from a cogeneration plant that makes electricity as well. The LA Basin fields are mostly at end of life or close to it, and would have been abandoned within a couple of decades. Unfortunately for oil companies, the LA Basin filled up with people, many(or most) of whom do not want oil wells next to them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
