Hanson lives in one of the poorest regions of California and works in one of the richest, so he has an interesting perspective. While the rich in Palo Alto can afford those gas prices, the folks in Fresno can’t. So, California is governed by a class of people that never feel the consequences / pain of the policies they implement.
while true that the elites don’t feel as much pain, that is changing with the mass exodus of middle class whites and small business. The obsessive tax situation and continued SJW warfare on citizens have turned paradise to hell.
Where else is plastic straws outlawed but you can sh*t on the sidewalks legally? The funny thing is that even the most rabid progressive democrats are starting to realize they went way too far towards socialism and are acting like fascists.
AOC lied about illegal immigrants having to drink from the toilets. Still, even if true, they have toilets. Contrast that to all of the homeless in SF and LA. They don’t have toilets. They do have free shit, however, all over the streets.
Basically all detention facilities use a toilet/sink combo unit like this (as people have been trying to point out for 3 days) so they say they’re “drinking out of a toilet”.
These people are liars, and the American Pravda media is lazy.
But yeah, Democrat run states suck, and Wisconsin (because they put a pot referendum on the ballot) now has a democrat governor who (surprise – surprise) wants to raise the gas tax 8¢.
He won’t stop there of course.
My opinion? Roads benefit everyone so why don’t we fund them out of the general fund instead of a regressive sales tax on gas?
WI is just one of four states currently working on increasing their fuel taxes. Politicians know times are good economically and fuel prices are down, so will jump on the opportunity. As for the fuel sales tax? I think that is a fine way to fund transportation infrastructure as long that is all the tax revenue is used for, which is not the case in most states. That is unless there comes a day when EVs become predominate.
Yes indeed, if the gas tax funds the roads, and electric cars don’t use gas, ….. you get the picture, it’s going to be a cobbled up convoluted tax scheme to have them pay their fair share. So why not fund the nation’s roads out of the general fund and get it over with?
Here in Illinois, our lovely democratic controlled house, senate and democratic Governor, just raised our state gas tax from 19 to 38 cents per gallon. And just so the eCar drivers don’t feel left out they raised their yearly registration fees from $101.00 to $1000.00.
The price of fuel might be expensive in California and many are living in poverty and on the streets but the politicians are very well paid. I read a book called “The House of Government” (really three books bound as one and not an easy read) which is about the rise of the Bolsheviks based on diaries and letters etc of the era. The one comment I remember is that the red functionaries deserved all the perks of the previous regime, eg dachas, spas, holidays, while the hoi polloi just slaved away because and I paraphrase: “They work hard to make everything better their brains hurt so they need the special rest.” Talk about brain washing and stupidity. One can only suppose they just didn’t have enough rest and special treatment given the nature of the Soviet empire just before it collapsed in its grey amorphous heap.
Like I said, this trucker recently managed to drive 3/4 of the way up California and back down and didn’t spend a dime in that state on anything. I don’t fuel in PA either because of the fuel prices. Fact is I do my best not to fuel anywhere in the NE and always top off in Ohio before heading east. I can make it 1,300 to 1,400 miles depending on the weight of the load, traffic, and road conditions, hills, etc. Last time I fueled anywhere east of Ohio was when Charlie and I teamed and did that run for Wreaths Across America last winter which took us up into central Maine where we had to sit for 30 hours before getting loaded and headed back to Anderson, IN. I also avoid fueling in IL.
Thanks, I didn’t know that.
Fuel cost is by far the largest operating expense for trucking. Management will sit down and recalculate where the best places to fuel are now. And this driver will have to adjust his trip planning accordingly. But no matter how it works out in the end it is the consumer of what is being shipped that will ultimately pay the extra expense.
BTW in the decade of so I have been doing runs to Ontario and a few to Quebec I have only had to fuel once in Canada. Most of the time I only buy thermoses of Tim Hortons Coffee and some donuts up there but occasionally have bought other carry out food and drink.
Is that $1.45 Au or $1.45 Us dollars? In Calgary Alberta Canada we are paying $0.98 Can a litre which is ~ 0.75 US a litre x 3.8 is $2.83 US for a US gallon. All this litre and gallons and US gallons vs imperial gallons and currencies reminds me of the furlongs per fortnight joke.
And remember that added fuel tax is in addition to the confiscatory tolls one pays when they drive the OH Toll Road, NY Throughway or PA Turnpike. Again, the consumer pays. BTW the first road on which Ohio raised the speed limit for big trucks was the OHTR. They raised the limit on the I-80-90 toll road months before they did state wide because so many trucking companies refused to allow their drivers to take it and pay toll for a road with a 55 mph limit and were using US 20 instead.
For some reason there is a widely held belief that one of the core purposes of government is to ensure that certain things – houses and fuel among them – cost as much as possible.
This is inconsistent with the price of cars themselves. Not even dayglo greens seem to be suggesting that cars should be made artificially expensive, just that electric ones should be hugely subsidised. In the UK, our remaining car factory workers are still portrayed as working class heroes. If 100 of them are made redundant, it is big news in the MSM whereas the loss of 5000 from most other sectors is largely ignored.
Automobiles powered by hydrocarbon fuels are being made artificially more expensive with mandates well into the diminishing returns on emissions, fuel economy requirements and so on while more weight is mandated through ever more crash safety.
The idea is to push the price of purchasing a hydrocarbon fueled car higher than that of an EV. The EV subsidies are ultimately temporary until conventional vehicles are forced off the market. What will remain are very expensive EVs that most people cannot afford to purchase, operate, and maintain. Vehicles that will become economically non viable before they are ten years old (due to battery pack failure primarily but also electronic failures and general non-serviceability) so replacement must be frequent and there are no viable used vehicles for people of lesser means.
The personal private automobile is under political attack.
All at the same time the powers that be in many layers of government are trying to make the vehicles and the fuel unaffordable while at the same time making motoring ever more painful through restrictions, lane reductions, and more. There are even political battles waged on developers that construct parking lots and garages on private property.
The desire is to make the automobile once again an expensive toy of the wealthy.
I was out in LA at the end of March. There were many places where gas was over $5.00 per gallon. My family and I stayed in a condo in Hollywood – really nice. But that area is full of homeless people living in tents on the sidewalk. I used to live in Beverly Hills and would walk or bike to Hollywood frequently to see movies at the Chinese Theater. It wasn’t like that back then.
They forgot to consult with this guy about that.
The Two-States of California – Victor Davis Hanson
https://youtu.be/z7pQdqPzozc
Victor Davis Hansen- Keynote Address: California at the Crossroads
https://youtu.be/bgmR_5Hi2fw
Hanson lives in one of the poorest regions of California and works in one of the richest, so he has an interesting perspective. While the rich in Palo Alto can afford those gas prices, the folks in Fresno can’t. So, California is governed by a class of people that never feel the consequences / pain of the policies they implement.
while true that the elites don’t feel as much pain, that is changing with the mass exodus of middle class whites and small business. The obsessive tax situation and continued SJW warfare on citizens have turned paradise to hell.
Where else is plastic straws outlawed but you can sh*t on the sidewalks legally? The funny thing is that even the most rabid progressive democrats are starting to realize they went way too far towards socialism and are acting like fascists.
What evidence can you offer that “even the most rabid progressive democrats” are coming to a realization that they hVe gone too far?
AOC lied about illegal immigrants having to drink from the toilets. Still, even if true, they have toilets. Contrast that to all of the homeless in SF and LA. They don’t have toilets. They do have free shit, however, all over the streets.
If it’s so bad, why are they here?
Basically all detention facilities use a toilet/sink combo unit like this (as people have been trying to point out for 3 days) so they say they’re “drinking out of a toilet”.
These people are liars, and the American Pravda media is lazy.
https://www.gasbuddy.com/GasPrices/(state)
2.47 here in Wisconsin
2.09 Texas
2.93 California
But yeah, Democrat run states suck, and Wisconsin (because they put a pot referendum on the ballot) now has a democrat governor who (surprise – surprise) wants to raise the gas tax 8¢.
He won’t stop there of course.
My opinion? Roads benefit everyone so why don’t we fund them out of the general fund instead of a regressive sales tax on gas?
WI is just one of four states currently working on increasing their fuel taxes. Politicians know times are good economically and fuel prices are down, so will jump on the opportunity. As for the fuel sales tax? I think that is a fine way to fund transportation infrastructure as long that is all the tax revenue is used for, which is not the case in most states. That is unless there comes a day when EVs become predominate.
Yes indeed, if the gas tax funds the roads, and electric cars don’t use gas, ….. you get the picture, it’s going to be a cobbled up convoluted tax scheme to have them pay their fair share. So why not fund the nation’s roads out of the general fund and get it over with?
Part of the reason for wanting to raise gas tax is to push people to EV’s .. that is part of the overall strategy.
Here in Illinois, our lovely democratic controlled house, senate and democratic Governor, just raised our state gas tax from 19 to 38 cents per gallon. And just so the eCar drivers don’t feel left out they raised their yearly registration fees from $101.00 to $1000.00.
Low range in Ellensburg, WA this week is about $2.95.
Our electric price is low relative to most of the USA.
If I lived in CA, I would leave as soon as possible.
About $0.60/gallon cheaper in Colorado (though for some reason it’s typically more in Boulder).
We are around the $2.10 area here in middle Tennessee.
The price of fuel might be expensive in California and many are living in poverty and on the streets but the politicians are very well paid. I read a book called “The House of Government” (really three books bound as one and not an easy read) which is about the rise of the Bolsheviks based on diaries and letters etc of the era. The one comment I remember is that the red functionaries deserved all the perks of the previous regime, eg dachas, spas, holidays, while the hoi polloi just slaved away because and I paraphrase: “They work hard to make everything better their brains hurt so they need the special rest.” Talk about brain washing and stupidity. One can only suppose they just didn’t have enough rest and special treatment given the nature of the Soviet empire just before it collapsed in its grey amorphous heap.
Like I said, this trucker recently managed to drive 3/4 of the way up California and back down and didn’t spend a dime in that state on anything. I don’t fuel in PA either because of the fuel prices. Fact is I do my best not to fuel anywhere in the NE and always top off in Ohio before heading east. I can make it 1,300 to 1,400 miles depending on the weight of the load, traffic, and road conditions, hills, etc. Last time I fueled anywhere east of Ohio was when Charlie and I teamed and did that run for Wreaths Across America last winter which took us up into central Maine where we had to sit for 30 hours before getting loaded and headed back to Anderson, IN. I also avoid fueling in IL.
rah,
FYI, Ohio just raised the gas tax by 10.5 cents/gal on July 1.
Thanks, I didn’t know that.
Fuel cost is by far the largest operating expense for trucking. Management will sit down and recalculate where the best places to fuel are now. And this driver will have to adjust his trip planning accordingly. But no matter how it works out in the end it is the consumer of what is being shipped that will ultimately pay the extra expense.
BTW in the decade of so I have been doing runs to Ontario and a few to Quebec I have only had to fuel once in Canada. Most of the time I only buy thermoses of Tim Hortons Coffee and some donuts up there but occasionally have bought other carry out food and drink.
The latest gas tax increase in California just went into effect yesterday: https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/states-gas-taxes-to-rise-july
Oh the pain. In Australia we are currently paying around a $1.45 per litre fuel. One US Gallon = 3.78 Litres.
UK it is around £1.30 / litre where I am.
I make that well over $6 / US gallon.
Is that $1.45 Au or $1.45 Us dollars? In Calgary Alberta Canada we are paying $0.98 Can a litre which is ~ 0.75 US a litre x 3.8 is $2.83 US for a US gallon. All this litre and gallons and US gallons vs imperial gallons and currencies reminds me of the furlongs per fortnight joke.
Aussie dollars. exchange rate is around 70 cents to one US dollar.
And remember that added fuel tax is in addition to the confiscatory tolls one pays when they drive the OH Toll Road, NY Throughway or PA Turnpike. Again, the consumer pays. BTW the first road on which Ohio raised the speed limit for big trucks was the OHTR. They raised the limit on the I-80-90 toll road months before they did state wide because so many trucking companies refused to allow their drivers to take it and pay toll for a road with a 55 mph limit and were using US 20 instead.
For some reason there is a widely held belief that one of the core purposes of government is to ensure that certain things – houses and fuel among them – cost as much as possible.
This is inconsistent with the price of cars themselves. Not even dayglo greens seem to be suggesting that cars should be made artificially expensive, just that electric ones should be hugely subsidised. In the UK, our remaining car factory workers are still portrayed as working class heroes. If 100 of them are made redundant, it is big news in the MSM whereas the loss of 5000 from most other sectors is largely ignored.
Automobiles powered by hydrocarbon fuels are being made artificially more expensive with mandates well into the diminishing returns on emissions, fuel economy requirements and so on while more weight is mandated through ever more crash safety.
The idea is to push the price of purchasing a hydrocarbon fueled car higher than that of an EV. The EV subsidies are ultimately temporary until conventional vehicles are forced off the market. What will remain are very expensive EVs that most people cannot afford to purchase, operate, and maintain. Vehicles that will become economically non viable before they are ten years old (due to battery pack failure primarily but also electronic failures and general non-serviceability) so replacement must be frequent and there are no viable used vehicles for people of lesser means.
Another million rich people will be leaving the state in the next couple of years. California will have to raise the tax again.
Another million people will be leaving the state in the next couple of years. They will have to raise the tax again to make up for the revenue loss.
Tunisia in the grip of Climate Change next week…clear CO2 signature.
Funny weather they are having in most of Europe.
The personal private automobile is under political attack.
All at the same time the powers that be in many layers of government are trying to make the vehicles and the fuel unaffordable while at the same time making motoring ever more painful through restrictions, lane reductions, and more. There are even political battles waged on developers that construct parking lots and garages on private property.
The desire is to make the automobile once again an expensive toy of the wealthy.
I was out in LA at the end of March. There were many places where gas was over $5.00 per gallon. My family and I stayed in a condo in Hollywood – really nice. But that area is full of homeless people living in tents on the sidewalk. I used to live in Beverly Hills and would walk or bike to Hollywood frequently to see movies at the Chinese Theater. It wasn’t like that back then.