Even though the price of oil is tumbling, are we actually paying more in taxes for gasoline? Nevada County’s State Senator Ted Gaines is trying to pass legislation that would delay fuels and fuel costs from the state’s “cap and trade” program…
Not true, says Dave Clegern, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board. Clegern does admit that some of the costs could be passed on to the consumer, but not at that rate…
Under the cap and trade program passed in 2006, a ‘cap’ is put on emissions by requiring covered entities to sell, or ‘trade’, allowances that permit an emission of a metric ton of carbon dioxide. The unneeded allowances are sold at auction to other companies that need to use them. In future years, the number of allowances available would be reduced. This is the first year that fuels are included in the program, and Gaines says just because fuel prices are down, doesn’t mean the increased costs are the right thing to do…
The Air Resources Board has no power to tax, and Clegern says this isn’t a hidden fee. He says you would have to view every regulatory fee in that light if that were true…
By 2020, the cap and trade program is expected to reduce targeted emissions by 22 percent. Gas prices, incidentally, have dropped 30 cents a gallon since the first of the year.
Martin Webb
Ted Gaines is losing credibility here. Go read the numerous analyses to date, from many different sources, and they all agree that the new cap and trade mandate is estimated to be adding roughly 2 cents/gallon since being enacted on gasoline. 76 cents/gallon? Nothing like made up numbers and scare tactics to generate a fictitious sense of emergency and a self-created false crisis that he can then 'rescue" us from. Thanks Dan. Prices are down, way down. Get a grip. Absolutely no evidence to back up his exaggerated alarmist claims and lots of evidence to the contrary. The only news here is that politicians still have no idea what they're talking about and continue to avoid the real problems at hand.
Ladson Isaac
Ideally, we wouldn't need a mechanism to enforce pollution and healthy air standards; however, history shows the hydrocarbon industries take the adversarial tact; they would rather spend money on TV PR, lawyers and political influence than cooperate and comply with regulatory requirements. I just watched a commercial telling me how fracking is good for me, nonsense, I know better.
The legislature doesn't make laws to attack the hydrocarbon people. They create laws to promote the general welfare, just as it says in our U.S. Constitution. The hydrocarbon bloc in Congress and the State Capital would be welcomed by those of us seeking a better, longer life for our kind; I invite them to invest their billions in developing and installing new forms of clean, renewable energy instead of fighting so hard to maintain the Status Quo. Hydrocarbon energy is obsolete; Lets move on. It's time to put away the Party's attack talking points and decide the issues with knowledge and heart; What's best for the American people is all you need to guide your activities.