Washington gasoline prices sky high.
Vacationers hitting the highways currently face a nationwide average price of $3.52 per gallon of gasoline, according AAA. However, the price varies widely among states.
California usually leads the nation and is currently at a sky-high $4.85 per gallon, but this year it has been eclipsed by Washington state at a hefty $4.98 per gallon. The reason is clear – costly climate change policies adopted by both states – and it provides lessons for the rest of the nation.
The cheapest gas is in Mississippi at $2.96 per gallon, and several other states are under $3.30. This gives a real-world yardstick of what is possible at current oil prices.
So what explains the almost $2 extra for gas in Washington and California? Part of it is state gasoline taxes. The 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax is uniform, but state taxes vary, and both Washington state and California are higher than the average of 39 cents per gallon. Further, tough state refinery regulations and gasoline specifications also explain part of the difference.
Like California’s measures, Washington’s effectively puts a price on the carbon content of gasoline sold in the state, and is a big reason behind the estimated 35 to 52 cent jump in prices compared to neighboring states, according to Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center. And it will get worse, as this is just the first year of the law, which gets progressively more stringent in the years ahead.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has similarly attempted to shift blame for his support of the Climate Commitment Act — as well as his earlier claims that the per gallon cost impact “would be pennies” — by making unsupported claims of industry price gouging. He has also noted that a pipeline serving the state is currently offline for maintenance, but the Olympic pipeline also serves Oregon, where gasoline prices are 35 cents per gallon lower.
Complete article is here at FOX.
