Gas has gone up 40 cents in TN recently.

[Por_sha911]

Like, two 15-20 cent jumps and a small one in between. All within the last 10 days.

I haven't seen anything here or in the news. Does anyone know what's going on?

[strupgolf]

Oil was $30/bbl, now its $38. Gouge us all they want, it will only go up.

[pksystems]

90 Cents/liter here. It's insane.

Our new socialist government will be increasing the gas tax soon, so it's going up more.

[KFC911]

I was paying 1.51 for quite some time when oil was around 30/bbl. Several weeks ago it jumped to 1.65, and then another 10 cents the following day at my go to Sheetz station...now 1.79. Other Sheetz within a few miles getting gas out of the same tanker will be 15-20 cents higher. It's whatever they can get away with

[URY914]

I was buying gas Friday and it was 1.94 where I was and 1.84 across the street. When I drove back by on my return the other place went up to 1.94 too.

[Evans, Marv]

Being in SoCal, I have no sympathy for you guys - except for "pksystems." Our prices never go down much it seems. They are just high or higher. Our small local store is getting around $3.00/gal. for regular, $2.69/gal. at the next town down the hill and something like $2.20/gal. to $2.30/gal at the cheapest, urban places, with the highest around $3.60/gal. When it takes a leap, we get the usual stories about refineries crashing, another seasonal blend going online, distribution problems, etc., etc. People here just feel like they are the cash cows of the petroleum industry.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Being in SoCal, I have no sympathy for you guys
.... People here just feel like they are the cash cows of the petroleum industry.

It's all Sammy's fault ...he'll probably drop in on this thread to "moo" at us

[TonyGO]

Here in s fla last week $1.71 for regular today $1.95 seems since no one complains they just keep going thieves!

[Brian 162]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Like, two 15-20 cent jumps and a small one in between. All within the last 10 days.

I haven't seen anything here or in the news. Does anyone know what's going on?

Summer driving season. Time to raise prices.

[Por_sha911]

I know there is a price increase due to summer formulation being more expensive additives but it is too early and isn't usually a 35% increase in price.

[jyl]

Gasoline prices have moved a little up from their February low, as oil has bounced off the same bottom. Pump prices are still the lowest in decades on an inflation adjusted basis. It is funny to hear people actually complaining about the past week's increase. Here in Portland, it is about $1.90.

Weekly U.S. Regular Conventional Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon)

Gas prices today are way too low, I think. And in general they are way too volatile.

Road and bridge infrastructure in this country is in pretty major need of repair, and the federal highway fund (from federal gas tax) is low and falling (at the current rate, will be empty in a few years). State and local road and bridge infrastructure faces the same problem. Taxes on gas are not indexed to inflation or to increased miles driven at higher mpg. So the funds available for roads and bridges are falling badly short.

Gas taxes should be increased and indexed to inflation. There could be a formula for a temporary freeze on the tax increase and/or a temporary decrease, when oil prices rise dramatically. Ideally when oil prices plunge, gas prices would go down more slowly, and extra tax funds would go into the highway fund. When oil prices soar, gas prices would go up more slowly, and the extra funds from prior years would be used to cover the shortfall.

Gas prices wouldn't be so volatile for the consumer. Gas prices going up too fast is tough on people, for obvious reasons. Gas prices going down too fast is also tough on people, for less obvious reasons - but all those people buying $50K pickup trucks and SUVs today because gas is cheap will feel it when gas isn't cheap any more.

And there would be enough funds to maintain and replace our roads and bridges. For example, when gas (national average pump price) was $4.00, the federal tax was $0.18. Today, gas is $1.80 and the tax is $0.18 and the highway fund is falling $3BN/yr and, even with contributions from general fund money, is headed for insolvency in the near term. But gas could be $2.30, the tax could be $0.58, and the highway fund could be saving up a big surplus for future years. Would most people's lives really be worse off if pump gas today was $2.30 instead of $1.80?. Is your life today so much better than it was in September 2015, when pump gas was $2.30?.

[Evans, Marv]

John. Yes you are correct with your comments about gas taxes. However (and I may be off on this - correct me if I'm wrong) most people's perception is that these kinds of funds are turned into slush funds by politicians who filch the revenue for their own pet projects or maybe use it in their districts to further their election success. I know the major city (I know it's not mostly covered by a federal gas tax) in the county I live in has needed roads repaired, underground water & sewer mains replaced, and most other infrastructure items repaired, updated, or replaced decades ago. People might be more receptive to increased taxation if they knew it would be used for the intended purpose in an efficient fair and equitable way. Somehow it never works out that way though.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by jyl

Gasoline prices have moved a little up from their February low, as oil has bounced off the same bottom. Pump prices are still the lowest in decades on an inflation adjusted basis. It is funny to hear people actually complaining about the past week's increase. Here in Portland, it is about $1.90.

Weekly U.S. Regular Conventional Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon)

Gas prices today are way too low, I think. And in general they are way too volatile.

Road and bridge infrastructure in this country is in pretty major need of repair, and the federal highway fund (from federal gas tax) is low and falling (at the current rate, will be empty in a few years). State and local road and bridge infrastructure faces the same problem. Taxes on gas are not indexed to inflation or to increased miles driven at higher mpg. So the funds available for roads and bridges are falling badly short.

Gas taxes should be increased and indexed to inflation. There could be a formula for a temporary freeze on the tax increase and/or a temporary decrease, when oil prices rise dramatically. Ideally when oil prices plunge, gas prices would go down more slowly, and extra tax funds would go into the highway fund. When oil prices soar, gas prices would go up more slowly, and the extra funds from prior years would be used to cover the shortfall.

Gas prices wouldn't be so volatile for the consumer. Gas prices going up too fast is tough on people, for obvious reasons. Gas prices going down too fast is also tough on people, for less obvious reasons - but all those people buying $50K pickup trucks and SUVs today because gas is cheap will feel it when gas isn't cheap any more.

And there would be enough funds to maintain and replace our roads and bridges. For example, when gas (national average pump price) was $4.00, the federal tax was $0.18. Today, gas is $1.80 and the tax is $0.18 and the highway fund is falling $3BN/yr and, even with contributions from general fund money, is headed for insolvency in the near term. But gas could be $2.30, the tax could be $0.58, and the highway fund could be saving up a big surplus for future years. Would most people's lives really be worse off if pump gas today was $2.30 instead of $1.80?. Is your life today so much better than it was in September 2015, when pump gas was $2.30?.

Sure, because allowing the government to control a free market is always a good idea.

[jyl]

Taxing a commodity is not controlling it. The government can't control the price of oil. It can't control the fundamental fluctuations in gas prices. But it can take a smaller tax bite when prices are high, and a larger bite when prices are low.

The tax bite on gas needs to be larger on average than it is now. Unless there is some other way to fund reinvestment in the country's roads and bridges. That tax bite has been getting smaller and smaller over the decades, because it isn't indexed to inflation, and now it's nowhere near enough. Infrastructure doesn't last forever, it crumbles and rusts.

So, we can make the tax on gas higher all the time, like $0.30 instead of $0.18 now. Or we can make it lower when consumers can least afford it, and higher when they can most afford it. Seems desirable to me. But if people prefer a constant tax, that's fine with me.

[Arizona_928]

What happened to Obama's 10$ a barrel tax?

[jyl]

Same thing that is happening to pretty much any proposed legislation in today's Washington DC. Nothing is being done there.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by jyl

Same thing that is happening to pretty much any proposed legislation in today's Washington DC. Nothing is being done there.

Doing absolutely nothing here in DC is considered being wildly successful.

[widebody911]

Went up here, too.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

John. Yes you are correct with your comments about gas taxes. However (and I may be off on this - correct me if I'm wrong) most people's perception is that these kinds of funds are turned into slush funds by politicians who filch the revenue for their own pet projects or maybe use it in their districts to further their election success. I know the major city (I know it's not mostly covered by a federal gas tax) in the county I live in has needed roads repaired, underground water & sewer mains replaced, and most other infrastructure items repaired, updated, or replaced decades ago. People might be more receptive to increased taxation if they knew it would be used for the intended purpose in an efficient fair and equitable way. Somehow it never works out that way though.

I think people are often delusional about how efficient or unefficient government spending is versus private sector spending or charitable spending or indeed their own individual spending.

Agreed, there are many examples of government wasting money on unnecessary projects. But the same is true in corporate America, as anyone who works in a large company knows - the money wasted on stupid things, pet projects, mismanaged groups, power struggles, payouts to investors, and massive executive compensation packages can certainly hold a candle to the typical government agency.

In too many cases, complaints about government waste are just another way to say "I don't want to pay" for whatever the public service or infrastructure is.

And what is the alternative? In some cases, public service or infrastructure can be privatized - airports, hospitals, prisons, universities, schools, etc. Sometimes that works. Other times it simply creates a for profit monopoly and after a decade or two, consumers find prices soaring or service deteriorating.

But basic roads and bridges can't be privatized. A few key bits of highway or vital bridge can be made into toll roads, if you want that to happen. But most roads and bridges have to be supported with tax funds from a broad source like gas taxes.

For now, anyway. Someday there can be GPS tracking of every car and truck and we can get invoiced for every 1/10 mile driven on every road out there. I hope that doesn't happen.

[1975porsche]

Just filled up 97 cents a litre in Toronto Canada.