Why are gas prices so different even in states next to each other?

[P562045]

This particular article tries to explain why this is happening with Missouri as an example.

The main reasons why Missouri has some of the lowest gas prices in the country is.

1. State gas taxes are low.
2. They have a lower need in terms of volume when compared to most other states.
3. The gas mostly comes from the gulf coast regions and the shipping costs are also somewhat lower.
4. And of course the biggest reason is that ethanol is mixed in with the gas. I believe even if this is a state law there was much bellyaching about it at the time. But there must be at least a 10% mixture of ethanol in all gas sold in Missouri.

With regards to my last reason I just love how this article points out that ethanol is ten cents cheaper than the "regular" stuff. I was wondering though if the price of corn has gone up ten cents or even more and if it has the portrayal of ethanol being ten cents cheaper is a moot point now is it. Oh wait I can't wait for the expert to come out and point out that we use way more gas than we do corn in our everyday lives.

I always wonder why my first reason is almost never mentioned when it comes to the total number of news stories complaining about the high gas prices which right now is almost every day now.

I just thought this was an interesting article for several reasons but that last sentence really is another part of the problem as well.

"Given diesel's higher price, refiners almost certainly would produce more if they could, but it may take them years to build that additional capacity."

Just another part of the equation that is also not discussed very much as well. I wonder why?



Maybe because there are reasons why we haven't increased our oil refining capacity since the late 1960's.

e.g. The Clean Air Act which first became law in 1963 was amended once again in 1966, extended in 1970, and amended again in 1977 and 1990.

At least with regards to the last time it was amended it made it even more difficult for oil refineries to producer a "cleaner" burning fuel.

So whenever a person see a thirty second sound byte about why gas prices are so high they know they are not getting the full picture of what all of the reasons are right.

I would like to amend the title of the 1963 Clean Air Act. I would like to call it Cleaner Air Than it was Before Act of 1963.

It would take even more money than we are already paying to actually say that the air is clean.

Just a few things to remember about all of this. And I have not even mentioned all of the factors of why gas prices are so high in this post.

Story Here

Maybe a little latter on I will list more reason in plain English why gas prices are higher right now.

But I can guarantee that environmentalists will not like my little list one bit.

And why P is your little rant taking so long?

Because there are many pieces to the puzzle to get the complete picture of why there are higher gas prices in the first place.

[rich76]

Peter....set 1 hr and 15 min aside and watch this entire video.....THEN ask your questions. If this doesn't scare you....nothing will. The republicans nor the democrats can do anything about the problem....for fear of their lives.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147

[yon Beast]

I watched the whole thing last nite,





acquiring book is next step...


again...

[islandgirl]

No time to watch right now, but here's one big reason why Canadian prices are so high: taxes. 50.5% of the cost of fuel here is to pay the tax man.

Starting July 1st, BC will introduce an additional tax, the Carbon Tax, the first jurisdiction in North America to do so. Drivers will be paying about an extra 2.4 cents per litre. The tax will then increase each year after that until 2012, reaching a final price of about 7.2 cents per litre at the pumps.

Gasoline and diesel fuel are taxed by the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

At the federal level:

• The excise tax on gasoline is 10 cents per litre while the excise tax on diesel fuel and aviation fuel is 4 cents per litre.
• The goods and services tax (GST) is 7 per cent of the final price paid for fuel, including federal and provincial excise taxes levied at the producer/wholesaler level, and is embedded in the retail price. The GST does not apply to provincial sales taxes levied at the pump as a percentage of the final price.

At the provincial/territorial level:

• Tax rates on gasoline range from 6.2 cents per litre in the Yukon to around 21 cents per litre in Prince Edward Island

• As a national average, the provincial tax rates on gasoline are about 14.5 cents per litre.

• Tax rates on diesel range from 7.2 cents per litre in the Yukon to around 20 cents per litre in Prince Edward Island—again averaging about 14.5 cents per litre.

• Special fuel surtaxes are levied in Victoria, Vancouver and Montréal.

• In New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax (HST) is levied on the final price of fuel at the pump (excluding GST).

• In Quebec, the Quebec Sales Tax is levied on the final price of fuel at the pump (including GST).

Tax Components of Gasoline at $1 per Litre
Province

Provincial Excise Tax (Flat Rate)
Provincial Sales Tax1
Federal Excise Tax (Flat Rate)
Total GST
GST "Tax on Tax" (Included in Total GST)
Total Tax Component

N.L.

16.5
7.5
10
6.5
1.86
40.5

P.E.I.2

21.3
N.A.
10
6.9
2.19
38.2

Nova Scotia

15.5
7.4
10
6.5
1.79
39.4

New Brunswick

14.5
7.3
10
6.4
1.72
38.2

Quebec

15.2
7.4
10
6.5
1.76
39.1

Montréal

16.7
7.5
10
6.6
1.87
40.8

Ontario

14.7
N.A.
10
6.4
1.73
31.1

Manitoba

11.5
N.A.
10
6.2
1.51
27.7

Saskatchewan

15
N.A.
10
6.4
1.75
31.4

Alberta

9
N.A.
10
6.0
1.33
25.0

B.C.

14.5
N.A.
10
6.4
1.72
30.9

Vancouver

20.5
N.A.
10
6.8
2.14
37.3

Victoria

17
N.A.
10
6.6
1.89
33.6

Yukon

6.2
N.A.
10
5.8
1.13
22.0

N.W.T.

10.7
N.A.
10
6.1
1.45
26.8

Nunavut

10.7
N.A.
10
6.1
1.45
26.8

Canada Avg.

14.5
2.2
10
6.5
1.72
33.2

1 In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the provincial sales tax component is the provincial portion of the HST. 2 PEI’s fuel tax rate is set on a monthly basis. 21.3 cents per litre represents the rate for regular unleaded gasoline effective September 1, 2005.


Of course, there is also the Big Business aspect, which I assume the video is about. Someone's pockets are being lined and we suffer for it.

[yon Beast]

Originally Posted by rich76

Peter....set 1 hr and 15 min aside and watch this entire video.....THEN ask your questions. If this doesn't scare you....nothing will. The republicans nor the democrats can do anything about the problem....for fear of their lives.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147

so I'm reading the news this morning...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25091410/

...and I couldn't help but think this is a related story in that U.S. now pushing around third largest producing oil country. My question is, are there other countries guilty of "enriching Uranium"? or is this another convenient excuse?

[P562045]

Here are some undeniable facts from the video.

There are only a few countries countries that actively try to extract oil. And the U.S. barely scratches the surface of what it could do just in Alaska alone.

Only about half of a barrel of oil is used to make gas.

There are many products that use petroleum to make that product.

So as a person can see petroleum is very much a part of person's everyday life and I am not even talking about what a person puts in their car.

I will have to get back to this a little latter on by naming just some of the products that use petroleum to make that product. The list would actually go into the thousands.

[rich76]

The fate of this planet was dictated in the 60's. Some believe that JFK was assassinated because he wanted to take OUR country in a different direction. Not sure if that's true or not, but for me, certainly believeable. Anyway...the people that made/produced that wonderful classic movie....the Graduate....a loooooooong time ago knew something. The "buzz word" of that movie was PLASTICS.

[hork]

Originally Posted by P562045

Here are some undeniable facts from the video.

There are only a few countries countries that actively try to extract oil. And the U.S. barely scratches the surface of what it could do just in Alaska alone.

Only about half of a barrel of oil is used to make gas.

There are many products that use petroleum to make that product.

So as a person can see petroleum is very much a part of person's everyday life and I am not even talking about what a person puts in their car.

I will have to get back to this a little latter on by naming just some of the products that use petroleum to make that product. The list would actually go into the thousands.

or you could just refer people to anwr

[rich76]

These two candidates we have running for the Presidency are talking about our dependancy on oil. It's not about our dependancy on oil.......it's our dependancy on FOREIGN OIL! If we could start extracting oil from gull island and Alaska's north slope....we'd be back down under $1.50 per gallon in less than a year. The pipeline is in place....what, exactly, is the freakin' problem Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama?

[P562045]

Another day another congressional committee that doesn't do a darn thing to reduce the price of a barrel of oil.

Oh no Congress is much more concerned about where prices will be well into the future.

And even next year.

A bank analyst said that a barrel of oil will drop to about 105$ a barrel. But of course that is not good enough for Washington especially during an election year. And it won't drop until after November 4th of this year at least.

A barrel of oil is about 135 right now. If it drops to 105 per barrel that is about a 22% drop in the price of a gallon of gas. Because right now their is almost a direct correlation between how much a barrel of oil is and how much a gallon of gas is.

So putting on my math hat. A 22% drop on a gallon of gas that is four dollars a gallon is decrease of 88 cents per gallon of gas. So let's see a ten gallon gas tank would save a driver about $8.80 a week times 52 weeks in a year which is $43.20 a year. Well that is not very much savings over a whole year so let's just keep it a $4 a gallon just for the heck of it. And another great reason to keep a gallon of gas at $4 is that people will drive less right if it at that price for a long period of time right?

Washington just makes me want to scream sometimes.

Story Here

And please don't ask Congressmen Markey the tough question of how long it would take for enough people to be driving a hybrid car to make much difference in our situation in the first place?

And when was the last time Washington was even remotely close to a projection that is decades out?