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How Much Do You Pay For Gas?

By: Caleb Howe (Diary)  |  March 20th, 2012 at 03:45 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

“The tools we have at our disposal are limited, but I would I say I would give myself a little higher in that since I became Secretary of Energy, I’ve been doing everything I can to get long-term solutions.” – Energy Secretary Steven Chu, on whether he would give himself an A minus on gas prices.

The above quote is from a House Hearing this morning. Ed Morrissey breaks down the reality, and has video of the Secretary’s testimony.

A Minus? The George Allen campaign today has a fantastic, and depressing, new website out today that suggests a different grade. At www.TooMuchAtThePump.com, you can put in the make and model of your car, or the size of the tank, and you get a comparison between what it took to fill your tank in January of 2009 versus now. The results will blow your wallet up.

From the site:

It’s been 3 years since President Obama took office and appointed Tim Kaine Chairman of the DNC, in those three years gas prices have skyrocketed for families across the country. While they profess to be for an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy the White House has prevented Virginia from exploring for natural gas and oil off our coasts.

All of the above, indeed. Steve Maley pointed out 10 ways that Obama could reduce gas prices a few weeks ago here at RedState. As Steve says, don’t hold your breath.

So check out www.TooMuchAtThePump.com. If you can recover your senses after the sticker shock, you can even sign their petition.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

    store and back home, or close enough to push the car into the drive-way…

    • APA Guy

      Not a laughing matter, but the humor is appreciated by the APA Hoosier, my friend.

    • Scope

      Just read a headline recently that the writer of a fantastic new budget, Paul Ryan, hit his credit card limit trying to fill up his gas tank.

      • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

        Peas will be back on the menu

        • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

          in preparation for GC’s next column/epiphany…smile

          • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

            Day of Reckoning

      • mixplix

        It’s now at $100.00 at some stations here in NYS tax per gallon is 44.6 cents per gallon, now add the federal, sales and excise taxes and you get an idea why we are at the top of the list. At $4.069 per gallon it’s just about right for a fill up of a hundred dollars.

  • APA Guy

    The Ryan Budget would be a terrific start to fix what ails the dollar…which would bring down the price of oil virtually overnight.

    Putting the Keystone Pipeline in place and tripling oil leases on public lands would take care of the supply. Combine that with upping refining to capacity instead of 82% would complete the trifecta :)

    • acat

      On one paw, it’s getting painful to even refill the Camry .. let alone the 4×4 Tundra .. but on the other paw, my telecommuting gig looks better all the time.

      Mew

      • westcoastpatriette

        I haven’t had to fill up since I paid $4.29 last week and that link provided average prices in all the states. Curious what the going rate is here in Cali. We’re usually among the highest prices in the nation.

        • acat

          These guys?

          Yeah, they’re pretty useful, but it’s crowdsourced so .. buyer beware.

          Mew

          • westcoastpatriette

            Thanks, kitty.

    • avagreen

      $3.52 as of today.
      With the lowest being $3.49 and the highest being $3.53.

      Two years ago it was average of $2.32 per gal.

  • jamesm

    $4.39 a couple of days ago.

  • YnotNOW

    Which is kind of a shame, when you think about all of the other things that he was even more directly to blame for, and are therefore greater reasons to vote him out. The public votes their personal economics and wallet issues that are most visible. But I’ll take it as a proxy for now. ;)

  • johnt

    to the thugs that’s a solution, you suffer, we prosper & rule.
    In any case it’s Bush’s fault, or the Republican House. The diseased do not not take responsibility.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    Chu and the whole sorry lot would be tarred and feathered and ran out of town on a rail. These ideological creeps don’t have the slightest clue of what they are doing.

    • davesinsanantonio

      And that is why we must get behind Romney now and defeat Obummer and throw out all his commie eco-nut anti-American hangers on.

      They want to destroy our economy, our freedoms, and our churches. And, they are doing a good job of it. It is all planned and going according to that plan. Do not think they are stupid. They are smart, just evil!!!

      • funwithknives

        David.

        “When we move as one ,they will fear us….”

  • WillWong

    YnotNOW is correct! There are tons of really great reasons to vote the BUM out and despite all these, his rating is still a tad below 50% which tells me that a tad under half the population are either stupid, blind, or a combination of both!

    According to Newt, Chu does not even own a car which explains why he is so out of touch with the average American. And according to O, drilling here and drilling now plus building the keystone pipeline will not bring the price of gas down and at the same time, he turned around and begged the Saudis to increase output and discussed with Cameron to release oil from their stockpile in order to lower the price of oil.

  • lastgopinillinois

    where I usually fill up. This is very rare because this region is usually lower than the national average, but now we are higher than the national avg. I hate to even look at what they are charging over here in the black-and-blue state of illinois. It is usually about 15 cents/gal higher than Missouri.

    The ’55 Ford Fairlane with a 272 Y-block and Ford-O-Matic only gets about 15-16 MPG and I have to drive 60miles/day round trip, so the higher cost of gas really eats away at my budget very quickly.

    • Bill S

      and it’s more like $3.80 out here.

  • smblues

    Gasoline prices are not as easy as flipping a switch.

    Sure we could get rid of all regulation and probably drop the price of gas by a couple dollars at the cost of the proliferation of superfund sites.

    Additionally if you have some land where I can build a refinery that isnt going to run into years and decades of NIMBYism please let you neighborhood oil company know, they will be very interested.

    Tighter Fed policy would strengthen the dollar and drop the nominal price of oil while at the same time hurting the economy to an extent. Does this move the “real” price, maybe, and frankly a diary comment is not really an appropriate place to discuss the vagaries of macro economics.

    Increasing supply with more drilling and pipelines? I guess you get a reduction in the short term , but that is not a longterm solution. The rise in consumption in the developing world and China would clearly outpace increases in US production. Furthermore, these are not Saudi-esque sources that can be produced for $70 per barrel

    The ONLY longterm solution to high gas prices is to stop using gasoline. CNG is a stopgap but the real solution is electricity and/or hydrogen. Pushing money towards cleaner energy production, battery technology and other break through innovations.

    A- is probably a little high for Chu, but not all of that is his fault.

    • civil truth

      Our resident experts here have already disposed of these arguments in various posts. I suggest for starters you check out Steve Maley’s diaries. Do your own research.

      • smblues

        First a correction, in my previous post it should have read that “these are not saudi-esque sources that can be produced for under $20 per barrel but probably in the $70+ range.”

        Ive read the other diaries and plenty more from industry sources and academic papers, and I dont disagree with most anything that someone like Steve Maley has posted here.

        There does appear to be considerable amounts of recoverable unconventional oil in the West, and some further unknown potential off the east coast. But there is also a clear floor to the current price of oil at around $70-80 a barrel since that is roughly the marginal cost of production, and that is basically $2.50-3.00 gasoline. So yes, drilling and opening up more plays in the west like the kerogen deposits could lower the price due to decreased risk of future shocks But $1,00 gas isnt coming back without a massive shift in consumption patterns. And the Saudi’s still set the market. They know that $120+ oil is bad for business.

        There are of course so many externalities that are not included in the price of crude that I doubt anyone really has any clue the real cost of a barrel of oil. I view fossil fuels as a necessary evil. “Clean” [Insert Fossil Fuel] is a joke, but until we can produce alternatives at price competitive points we have to live with them . Here is where I think there is a real role for the DOE/Government to help fund R&D into technologies like Fusion that have the ability to be revolutionary.

        And remember just because it is cheap and easy doesnt mean it is the right thing to do.

        Im not a Democrat testing out talking points or anything like that. I am a republican with a masters degrees in energy economics and natural resource management who can think for himself and doesnt fall lockstep into the political rhetoric of “drill baby drill”

        Having the DOE fund research is not a bad thing.

        • Stricia

          to “Snivel Truths?”

          • demsaresatanic

            stricia the lionhearted?

        • civil truth

          The issue behind this all is that all energy sources come wrapped up in significant externalities (even the slave labor of ancient civilizations). There really is not such think as “clean” energy, and that especially includes wind and solar.

          It’s just that with the “clean” energy you more easily hide the externalities – or move them to foreign countries where you can pretend they don’t exist.

          The problem we see with government funding – and the whole Global Climate Change religion is the poster child – is that inevitably the decision-making about money expenditured becomes politicized and the grantees become an interest group that feathers their nest and choke off innovation and competition.

        • APA Guy

          how our budgetary woes have led to monetary policies that have destroyed the value of our dollar?

          Having all that education, surely you know that our devalued dollar has pumped up the price of oil, which is priced in dollars. $1.00 gas isn’t possible because of consumption patterns…we consumed plenty in the 90s and still paid $1.00 a gallon. Balanced budgets are what kept oil and gas prices low, and that is what will lower them to $1.00/gallon again. We don’t need the DoE for that.

    • funwithknives

      my theorizing friend? As-in, this month?Just STOP? Like today? You first ……

      Spain, Germany and the UK are either abandoning subsidized green initiatives or cutting back by half {UK=50%, others done by 2017} they see that “investing ” this way {using Gov’t as a venture capital firm} is a proven loser. Barry used to brag up Spain for hours on end but no more. When you Obviate 2.2 existing jobs for 1 green job {of dubious economic worth} it doesn’t take long for the metrics to tell you to just stop.

      I notice that nowhere in your screed is an ‘ all the above’, free-market approach which just might prove a few worthwhile solutions. Use your theory and many freeways become highly engineered bike paths.

      And no it’s not all his fault. But he picked his ride, so let him travel the road he’s on, and take the flak. He IS in charge, right?

      • funwithknives

        Regular gas in S/E Michigan varies from $4.00, down to $3.83,depending on which side of the storied Eight Mile Road you’re on.
        North of same is more money due to “Regional Value Pricing” {as Oakland Cty. has more apparent affluence}

    • skorrent1

      From one who claims knowledge in energy matters. Who claims gas prices can be controlled by “flipping a switch”? Who wants to drop “all regulations” regardless of consequences, and what does that have to do with “superfund sites”, the worst of which are on public lands anyway? It isn’t NIMBYism but the EPA that is causing existing refineries to close down, along with electric generating plants. What has Chu done to oppose the EPA?

      Of course demand for oil is increasing world-wide. Is that any reason to continue sitting on 20, 50, or 100 years of supply recoverable at current prices? It may be “short term” in the geologic sense, but not in political or economic terms. Eventually, technology, most likely developed in the private sector, may give us an economic alternative to gasoline at some future price, but the country’s economy is not aided by government actions to force higher prices today, or to waste money by subsidizing clearly uneconomical energy sources today.

      Chu deserves a D-. I only save him from an F because he had the good sense to avoid relying on “global warming” to justify higher energy prices.

      • gekster

        he would open up more offshore drilling for oil.
        Did you forget that the price of oil dropped almost overnight, along with the price of gas.
        Did you forget.

        Why did gas prices drop immediately after Bush talked about oil exploration?

        A simple search on bing for “price of oil drops from bush announcement”.

        I guess you forgot.

        • sharrondeer

          The prices dropped because the economy crashed. It had nothing to do with Bush’s announcement. Gasoline prices peaked at $4.12 in mid 2008 and then plummeted along with everything else.

          That’s also why it’s absurd to use the price of gas when Obama was inaugurated. Comparing prices to those before the recession make sense. Comparing them to the worst of the recession does not.

          • gekster

            Do the same search I did and come back when you get educated.

          • acat

            Because the worst of the recession, as my wallet measures it, was this year, not 2009.

            Mew

          • APA Guy

            After all, the deficits that have accompanied them have weakened the dollar…and oil is priced in dollars.

            Oh, and there is the matter of his issuing 1/2 of the public-land oil leases that Bush did…which artificially decreased supply and reduced lease royalties to the federal government.

            Still want to give Obama a pass?

            Didn’t think so…

          • gekster

            the Obama moratorium, against a Federal judges ruling, not once but twice, and most recently the Keystone Pipeline among other things.
            I think she just wants to be willfully ignorant of the facts as shown.
            (Closet Obama supporter? Maybe.)

          • APA Guy

            They whine like mules about the rich not paying their fair share, then lower oil lease royalties by cutting the number issued. I thought we wanted the wealthy paying more, gekster? :)

            Our side SOOO has the high ground on this issue. If Mitt Romney swings the oil and gas stick, he can’t lose in November because Obama has no refute of the justifiable attacks on his oil/gas record.

          • gekster

            taxes that are paid by the oil industry from the drilling all the way down to the gasoline.
            They never mention during record oil industry profits the record amount of taxes paid.
            I just wonder how much Federal tax revenue has been lost because of Obamas’ policies.

      • smblues

        I wasnt advocating droping all regulations, just that if we wanted to drop oil prices significantly we could by letting everything be a free-for-all but that it would be an ecological disaster that would result in many new superfund type sites (of course without regulations there wouldnt be a CERCLA so no superfund and no cleanup)

  • rsgp

    nt

  • bob570

    A Philosophy Historian once wrote, ” No Philosophy, or Religion (in this case Ideology), ever succeeded, no matter how wonderful, without first passing the average person test.” In this case, if the average person can no longer afford to heat their homes, buy food for their families, or the fuel to get them to and from work, I doubt they’ll be given Obama, and Mr. Chu anything but an “F”.

  • Juggernaut

    because all food groups have gone up as has energy. Clothing and many other consumer items have increased. Many due to new regulations and others due to rising commodities and a lower dollar coupled with a President who can’t count to a trillion let alone give a damn what Americans pay. He’s creating more wards of the state while acting like the country is going to recover. Last time oil traded at $100, unleaded was closer to $3.15 a gallon. Georgians didn’t see $4.00 gas till oil was above $135 to $140. Maybe the urban zones in the ATL.

  • gekster

    national gas prices

    I’m in the $4.05-$4.15 range here in mid-Michigan.
    On January 20th, 2009, I was paying $2.17.
    I am just ciurious as to how Bush managed the high prices 3 1/2 years after he left office, as we all know, it’s all Bushes fault.

    • westcoastpatriette

      Me and pttx have been so concerned about you. I’ll have to let her know you are okay. So good to hear from you.

      • gekster

        I’m back from my vacation from electronics.
        I usually only take a month off from everything that is electrical for a month,
        but this year I extended it.
        No tv, no phone, no internet, no news, nothing.
        I find it helps me see things a little clearer.
        I’m sorry I didn’t say something before I went on hiatus,
        (I will admit that I did cheat and looked in once and a while)

        Say hi to Mom for me, and I will reply if I see a post from her. :)

        • westcoastpatriette

          pttx’s son

    • sharrondeer

      Presidents have very little control over gas prices, other than tapping into the strategic oil reserves. Oil is a global commodity so, short of price controls or other government intervention, there’s not much that can be done.

      Did you know that oil was our #1 export last year? Crazy, hunh? But it’s just free market principles at work: people who have the oil sell to the highest bidder.

      • gekster

        ;)

      • APA Guy

        Obama devalued the dollar by virtue of his budget deficits…causing that global commodity, which is priced in dollars, to jump in price.

        He also artificially lowered oil supply by issuing 1/2 of the public-land oil leases that Bush did and refusing to aprove Keystone. The lower leases also reduced oil royalties to the government…our #2 source of federal funds.

        Get an education…then come back to the big-boy table and debate.

  • http://www.periodictablet.com superamerican

    WORK YOUR FINGERS TO THE BONE TO CONVINCE EVERYONE AND ANYONE THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HIRES, POLICIES AND PHILOSOPHIES ARE BAD FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. TALK TO YOUR MOTHER, FATHER, SISTERS AND BROTHERS, SONS AND DAUGHTERS, IN LAWS, EVERYONE AND ANYONE.

    NOW.

    periodictablet.com

  • ArchTriumph

    I’m starting a “Thank you Obama” Campaign. Every time I fill up and the person next to me shares my abject anger at the insipid rising gas prices I will turn to them and say Yup, “Thank you Obama.” The lady today agreed. I said we’ve got to defeat him and she said there’s a lot of things she’d like to do to him but would not speak it. Everyone should share a “Thank you Obama” when the fill up the tank, before we tank.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    From Herman Cain’s Facebook page here

    429138_10150664594504170_235203259169_8968703_2018392772_n

    • lineholder

      Thanks for passing it on, Melody. I’ll do so as well.

    • Caleb Howe

      nt

    • rsgp

      …is “Nein! Nein! Nein!”

      (As a note, although I favor more drilling — for the sake of jobs, deficit-reduction, and balance of trade — I wish our side would drop the bogus claim that it would significantly lower gas prices. It won’t. Not in the short, medium, or long-term. We will hurt the Republican and conservative “brands” if we continue with this invalid claim. People will eventually find out it’s bogus and it will hurt our credibility for years.)