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?

[yon Beast]

Originally Posted by rich76

The pipeline is in place....what, exactly, is the freakin' problem Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama?

If I heard right... seven trillion dollars are the reasons!!

[rich76]

Originally Posted by da freak

If I heard right... seven trillion dollars are the reasons!!

precisely

[P562045]

Well when I was referencing to oil in Alaska the video talks about the north slope in Alaska. Which is right near northern central Alaska near Point Barrow.

Artic National Wildlife Refuge is in the extreme northeastern part of Alaska.

The guy in the video did reference almost as much oil as in the whole middle east is there in Alaska and as I just referenced it is not actually ANWR he is talking about.

And just one other thing that was not in the video. This north slope region is very near where the oil that we do get from Alaska comes from through the Trans Alaskan Pipeline.

And don't even get me started on our dependence on foreign oil. If we really wanted to we could produce almost all of the oil we would ever need within our own borders.

And I will get to that in the next few days. Some more reasons why we are dependent on foreign oil in the first place.

[hork]

Originally Posted by P562045

Well when I was referencing to oil in Alaska the video talks about the north slope in Alaska. Which is right near northern central Alaska near Point Barrow.

Artic National Wildlife Refuge is in the extreme northeastern part of Alaska.

The guy in the video did reference almost as much oil as in the whole middle east is there in Alaska and as I just referenced it is not actually ANWR he is talking about.

And just one other thing that was not in the video. This north slope region is very near where the oil that we do get from Alaska comes from through the Trans Alaskan Pipeline.

And don't even get me started on our dependence on foreign oil. If we really wanted to we could produce almost all of the oil we would ever need within our own borders.

And I will get to that in the next few days. Some more reasons why we are dependent on foreign oil in the first place.

sorry i guess i misunderstood, your post said and i quote

"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."

seemed to me you were telling us you were going to list products and nothing about dependence on foreign oil real or otherwise, hence my referencing the page i did

sorry apparently i misunderstood your wording

[islandgirl]

This story is hilarious.

1. as if this isn't already happening in other cities around the world.
2. I love that they simply fine the guilty parties. All that money will just go into the government's purse.


Competition bureau looking at gas markets after smashing Quebec cartels

Thu Jun 12, 7:22 PM


By Jonathan Montpetit, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - After clamping down on a network of gasoline cartels in Quebec for price-fixing, the federal Competition Bureau says it is continuing to investigate whether other Canadians are also getting scammed at the pump.

Criminal charges laid Thursday against 13 people and 11 companies for allegedly fixing gasoline prices in Quebec are the first in Canada since 1955.

Three companies, including Ultramar Ltd., pleaded guilty and were fined a total of $2 million, while a former Ultramar employee received a $50,000 fine.

Competition officials are promising to find out the answer to a question on the minds of thousands of Canadians as gas prices continue to climb: How widespread is price-fixing in the industry?

"We follow the gas market very closely," bureau commissioner Sheridan Scott told a news conference in Montreal as she announced the various criminal charges.

"I can assure you that the Competition Bureau will not hesitate to take action to stop price fixing in this industry."

Ultramar, the only major oil company being investigated, was slapped with a $1.85-million fine after acknowledging its role.
"This is one of the top fines that we have been able to attain for domestic cartels," Scott said.

She stressed there was no evidence that Ultramar's head office was directly involved in the cartel.

"This is obviously a regrettable situation that we deplore," Christian Houle, Ultramar motorist sales network vice-president, said in a statement.

The other accused companies are mainly local franchisees operating under the banner of such recognizable brands as Esso and Shell.

Les Petroles Therrien Inc., operating under the Petro-T banner, and Distributions Petrolieres Therrien were fined a combined $179,000.

Jacques Ouellet, an Ultramar employee who has since left the company, was fined $50,000.

Consumer groups speculated the charges will only feed long-simmering suspicions of widespread collusion among gasoline retailers.

"I think this story will boost the anger of consumers regarding the price of gasoline," said Charles Tanguay, spokesman for a Quebec association of 11 consumer protection groups.

Tanguay added some of the fleeced clients will likely resort to a class-action lawsuit to attempt to recoup some of their money.

Scott indicated the companies charged represented only a fraction of the total number of stations that took part in the various cartels that operated in Thetford Mines, Victoriaville, Magog and Sherbrooke.

In Victoriaville, 23 of the city's 24 gas stations are believed to have been colluding over the price of gas. More than 80 stations took part in Sherbrooke.

Scott refused to put an exact dollar figure on the alleged conspiracy. But she claimed that if the four cartels had managed to jack up the price of gas by just one cent for an entire year, motorists would be out a collective $2 million.

The charges come following a meticulous investigation that began in 2004.

Scott said the bulk of the bureau's evidence comes from thousands of RCMP wiretaps where suspects were overheard establishing a common price and date when it would be raised.

The competition bureau also carried out more than 90 search warrants, seizing bills and other financial evidence.

"It's a big challenge for us to lead such investigations," Scott said.

The suspected companies face a maximum $10 million in fines under the conspiracy charges, while the individuals face up to five years in jail.

[P562045]

Speaking of gas prices and why they are so high.

There is no real short term solution.

The article points out that if there was an easy solution someone would be making huge amounts of money from their idea already.

This a long section of the article about short term solutions to the problem. And to repeat there are really none that are very viable at the present time.

Short-term solutions

The debate over the gas tax holiday raises the broader question of whether there is anything the U.S. government can do to reduce the price of fuel in the short term.

"I think if anybody had a good answer, it probably would have been implemented by now," McIntyre said.

Some lawmakers recently proposed that the government release oil from an emergency stockpile but were rebuffed by the U.S. Energy Department.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 701 million barrels of oil and is generally used to respond to supply crises. That stockpile has been used twice in U.S. history: During the first Gulf War in the early 1990s and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The reserve exists to deal with the "physical interruption of the flow of oil to our country," U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said during a recent House hearing. "We don't have that issue today."

New deliveries to the strategic reserve, however, have been halted.

"There is very little the government can do in the very short-term, other than providing misinformation about the potential for government to act," said Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University.

He said that raising the price of energy may prove more beneficial. It seems counterintuitive, but the high prices could reduce demand and fundamentally alter consumer behavior, he said.

Has anyone stopped completely driving because of the higher gas prices? If not there is still a need for oil is there not? And there are many products that use petroleum to produce them. The main one is just about anything that is made out of plastic has a form a petroleum in them. So I guess we should stop eating peanut butter, stop brushing our teeth, and stop driving on roads as well? I only say this because these are just a few examples of everyday life that use petroleum products and I have not even mentioned gas. The things I just mentioned of course are not very practical right?

"We are not going to do it by reducing the price," he said. "It's saying to people: 'Don't go buy a fuel-efficient car; we'll just lower the price when it's too painful.'"

"Our best bet is to wean us off oil."

That last sentence will help but there are those other emerging markets of China and India for oil as well.

I love how we always just mention this in passing when we are talking about the two most populated countries in the world that have about a third of the world's population and their dramatic increases in need for petroleum as well. And there is very little we can do about this to be quite frank about it.

I seem to remember during the Memorial Day weekend there was story after story after story that people would be driving less this year than in past years. This is sort of weaning off of oil right? Well if the gas prices stay this high for a long time drivers will drive less miles right? Well the actual answer in some cases yes but I would dare say the vast majority of people over the course of an entire year would drive about the same amount of miles no matter what the price of gas is. Are we all just going to ride a bike to work or take public transportation all of a sudden?

Story Here

We also love to forget other factors as well. Such as domestic drilling for oil which by the way reduces our dependence on foreign oil and also increasing our capacity which by the way must happen first.

And this must start in Washington. Because the very reason these two things are so prohibitive is the environmental regulations Washington places on these two activities which is to drill more oil domestically and increase our oil refining capacity. This is the very reason I mentioned America's Security Act of 2007 in the other thread. And the main reason is that if that ever became law there would be even tougher restrictions placed on companies that wanted to increase oil capacity or even drill for more oil domestically for that matter. What is the main reason we should not drill any more in Alaska in the first place?

But what I have just said just makes to much sense so that will make Washington not think it is a good idea.

It is way past time that we start doing what I just suggested environmental groups be darned.

Environmental groups would absolutely scream bloody murder if we did the two things I just suggested. And the global competition we find ourselves in for oil is going to just keep getting worse until we start doing what I have suggested.