Bob Simons: ‘Hidden tax’ taking away our savings from cost of gasoline

Less than two weeks ago I purchased gasoline in Merced for $2.06 per gallon and in Turlock for $1.99 per gallon. Four days later, the Turlock gasoline was $2.17. Today the same gasoline in Merced is $2.57. Right after Jan. 1, gasoline increased by about 10 cents per gallon. I have not observed a price increase for crude oil. I suppose the 51-cent increase so far is the “green tax,” as it is called, or the “silent tax” enacted several years ago. People who were beginning to purchase things with the extra money from falling gasoline prices are now having to change back to spending that money on gasoline. Our state representatives and state senators need to represent their district populations and get rid of this repressive taxation.

Editor’s note: According to the Wall Street Journal, the price of crude oil and gas have fluctuated substantially since Dec. 31, 2014, when crude was $53.27 per barrel and the average price of gas in California was $2.66 per gallon. The price of crude fell to $44.53 on Jan. 29 (with gas prices falling as well), then rose to $53.05 on Feb. 3 and receding to $51.16 on Feb. 12, with the average price of gas at $2.65 in Merced, according to AAA.

This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Bob Simons: ‘Hidden tax’ taking away our savings from cost of gasoline."