Nothing stokes anger, blame, complaint and demand for reform than high fuel costs. Usually the cry is for lower prices with a level of ire that rises to the same level of hot-button politics as property and income taxes. That still doesn't stop Congress from going there in one of the hottest Presidential election years in US history.
See the San Francisco Chronicle Article:
The committee recommends a 5-cents-per-gallon increase in the tax for each of the next five years along with per-container freight fees at ports, ticket taxes for passenger rail systems and the ability for state and local officials to impose congestion tolls and enter private-public partnerships. Absent those other sources, Heminger said, the gas tax would need to rise 8 cents per gallon for each of the next five years.
Either $.25 a gallon or $.40 a gallon. That's a serious hit to consumers and I guarantee it become a highly covered issue if they actually push it forward in Congress. Nothing draws eye balls these days like talking about who to blame for high fuel prices.
Gasoline in particular seems to draw the most fire. Though most gasoline vehicles usually cost more per mile to operate in original equipment cost than gasoline at $3 a gallon, no gas-pot drivers ever seem to make this connection. They will pay $300 a month for a car/truck/SUV that gets poor milleage and blame the supplier of the btu's of energy as opposed to the lot they bought their overpriced energy guzzler from.
It's always comical to talk to a customer of mine driving a $40,000 gasoline fired monster truck as they complain about how its my fault they pay to much for gasoline. As if I control gas costs beyond a few pennies out of over $2 of commodity cost, over $.50 a gallon in taxes, and another $.50 a gallon in supply and uncertainty cost.
It will be nice to have politicians willingly taking the blame for a little while on where to focus fuel cost complaints.
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