California Governor Gavin Newsom (then Lieutenant Governor) riding in the Golden State Warriors Parade in Oakland, CA, Jun. 12, 2018. (Photo: Amir Aziz/Shutterstock)
Gov. Newsom Brags that Rest of Country Wants His Gas Tax Scheme
‘When we see gas lines and soaring prices, Democrats will have only themselves to blame’
By Katy Grimes, April 12, 2023 8:40 am
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Gas Tax, as it is being called in many circles, creates a new panel of unelected bureaucrats with subpoena power, to investigate oil and gas companies, impose penalties, new costs and regulations, which would inevitably lead to gas shortages, rationing and price spikes. SBX1-2 creates a new government agency to arbitrarily decide how much profit oil and gas businesses are allowed to make, disrupting California’s energy market and threatening the reliability of the state’s fuel supply, according to Assembly Republicans the Globe recently reported.
The governor’s scheme is to “create a new independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission charged with monitoring California’s petroleum market on a daily basis to ensure market participants play by the rules.”
“Democrats have spent years driving up the cost of gas with a steady stream of taxes, fees and regulations,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said. “This bill is no different. When we see gas lines and soaring prices, Democrats will have only themselves to blame, and I’m confident that Californians will hold them accountable. If Democrats were serious about lowering gas prices, they would back our efforts to give drivers a gas tax holiday.”
However, Gov. Newsom is crowing about nationwide support for his gas tax legislation.
Why does the governor think his gas tax scheme is so popular?
“New polling finds large majorities of American voters supporting California’s new law to fight gas price gouging, with 70% of voters supporting limits on oil company profits at the pump, which includes 63% support amongst Republicans,” the governor stated in an email Tuesday.
Here’s Newsom’s reinforcement: A Morning Consult report yesterday claims voters across the country want a similar law in their states, finding that “at least 3 in 5 voters would back similar laws in their own states” and “7 in 10 voters support limits on oil and gas company profits at the pump.”
What exactly are “excess profits?” There really isn’t such a thing – except in Socialism/Marxism/Communism.
The counterpart article about the poll was written by Julia Martinez, “a data reporter at Morning Consult covering energy and climate change.” Could there be a bias in this poll? (Hint, yes).
Here is the opening sentence of her article:
“Following a year of record profits for oil and gas companies around the world and ahead of what could be another summer of high gasoline prices, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last month signed SBX1-2 into law, which aims to stop price gouging at the pump.”
Her “price-gouging at the pump” link tracks to an Axios article which covered passage of Gov. Newsom’s bill, linked to another Axios article about Sen. Chuck Schumer demanding legislation to cap oil prices, finally linked to another Axios article acknowledging that the United States halted a significant amount of oil production, but Axios blames the COVID pandemic for the oil rig shutdowns, rather than President Joe Biden’s executive order halting the Keystone Pipeline. Here is what the Axios article says:
U.S. oil and gas production reached a record high in 2019, then plummeted during the pandemic. It was already rising again before Russia invaded Ukraine.
It’s a colossal feat to re-start all that halted production, but the number of active oil rigs has grown steadily since bottoming out in 2020. Still, the rig count is far shy of the 2019 peak.
Some Republicans and Democrats in Washington suggest Venezuela’s oil could replace Russia’s, according to the N.Y. Times.
President Biden’s advisers are discussing a possible visit to Saudi Arabia this spring to help repair relations and convince the Kingdom to pump more oil, Axios’ Hans Nichols reported.
The Morning Consult poll, and counterpart article already had the desired outcome – they just needed some data to back it.
Here are some of the hard-hitting questions asked of poll participants:
- Generally speaking, do you support or oppose there being limits to the amount of profit oil and gas companies can make per gallon of gasoline, meaning oil and gas companies could no longer price gouge consumers at the pump? (emphasis ours)
- How much have you seen, read or heard about California Bill SBX1-2, which would give the California Energy Commission the power to set a maximum gross gasoline refining profit margin, establish a penalty for any California-based refineries that surpass that margin, and require oil companies to disclose information to state regulators about their pricing?
- And do you support or oppose the following aspects of California Bill SBX1-2? Giving the California Energy Commission the power to fine oil companies if they surpass gasoline refining profit margins?
- And do you support or oppose the following aspects of California Bill SBX1-2? Requiring oil companies to report financial information about profit margins to the California Energy Commission?
- As you may know, oil and gas companies are a part of the international supply chain and the U.S. economy, providing thousands of jobs domestically. Oil and gas is also a source of energy that many industries in the U.S. depend on. Based on what you know now, do you support or oppose California Bill SBX1-2?
- Would you support or oppose the state you live in passing the following laws? A law that gives your state the power to limit gasoline refining profit margins.
- Would you support or oppose the state you live in passing the following laws? A law that gives your state the power to fine oil companies if they surpass gasoline refining profit margins.
- Would you support or oppose the state you live in passing the following laws? A law that gives your state the power to require oil companies to report financial information about profit margins.
- And would you support or oppose the federal government passing the following laws? A law that gives the federal government the power to limit gasoline refining profit margins.
- And would you support or oppose the federal government passing the following laws? A law that gives the federal government the power to fine oil companies if they surpass gasoline refining profit margins.
- And would you support or oppose the federal government passing the following laws? A law that gives the federal government the power to require oil companies to report financial information about profit margins.
- how concerned are you about the current price of gasoline?
- how concerned are you about the future price of gasoline?
A teenager would have answered these questions the same way the adult participants did. This poll, along with most political polls today, appear to impact or effect voters rather than reflect voters’ intentions – it’s a form of peer-pressuring with an everybody else believes this attitude.
The Globe believes if the registered voters polled knew Gov. Newsom’s new gas tax creates a new panel of unelected bureaucrats with subpoena power, to investigate oil and gas companies, impose penalties, new costs and regulations, which would inevitably lead to gas shortages, rationing and price spikes, the answers would have been quite different.
Of the 1,959 registered voters polled, 1,522 were white, a majority were female, and the majority were college-educated baby boomers (1946-1964).
The survey was conducted March 31-April 2, 2023, among a representative sample of 1,959 registered voters.
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September 30, 2020
I hate to say this but my peers are easily misled.
As Katy so righteously pointed out, it is how the questions are framed.
Take for example the mRNA scheme. They scared a lot of younger people to line up for the shot by telling them it would protect “grandma” and you don’t want to be the one to kill off “grandma”! No one wants to be the one to kill “grandma”.
Pollsters do not like calling me, I stop them and ask them to explain their questions and intentions. I also ask who is funding the polling. Needless to say the conversation is short.
As was pointed out, this poll is full of it. Gavin Gruesome is full of it.
Check out Gruesome’s pointy-headed “Big Lie” upside-down word-salad-y theatrics on Tucker Carlson. We know there are a lot of mashed-potato heads who eat this stuff up, amazingly. I believe it’s a small percentage of the population but apparently they hear what they want to hear. Tucker must be reading The Globe. Glad Tucker is on the case to warn the nation. Makes him a target but so far he has handled all comers. (And God bless Katy Grimes who has remained steadfast in consistently covering the misdeeds of this poor excuse for a governor when so many others in our state have been silent.)
“They Can’t Keep This Secret Forever”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbk31a5h0RU&list=PLlTLHnxSVuIzrARlmz9oCfQEF08UV-v-E&index=9
To use a Biblical saying. California is a byword and a hissing. NO ONE wants the destruction of the evil boy in short pants loves to inflict on his state.
In the end, democrats want this, they want and expect failure. They would love to see the gasoline market tank. They will just never admit anything they did had anything to do with the market collapse and the MSM will echo their innocence from here to eternity. They were only helping 🙂
What, me worry? Gavin is apparently vacationing in the lap of luxury in the Bahamas
https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2023/04/10/newsoms-real-spring-break-begins-at-an-expensive-members-only-bahamas-beach-resort-n729344
Whatever the Democrats say, it’s exactly the opposite.
Newsom is using California’s greatest weapon: burying a company in reporting ans paper work, so the state drones and cook up more roadblocks.
Remember Gavin’s speech in San Francisco in 2008 “It’s gonna happen, whether you like it or not” (gay marriage) and prop 8
“Whether You Like It Or Not”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms0hugRkgv8
The video is faded and grainy, but so is he.
The first YouTube commenter said, “lest we forget Newsom’s philosophy of governance…”
No kidding.
“Of the 1,959 registered voters polled, 1,522 were white, a majority were female, and the majority were college-educated baby boomers (1946-1964).”
White, college “educated” females. The nexus of all evil….
You are wrongly stereotyping the people I know who are conservative and fit the white college older women demographic. Often true, but stereotyping comments makes writers look very close minded.
The anti profit proposal is a scary step toward state owned businesses and communism.
So when oil companies stop producing, which is the ultimate goal, then will they like the idea???
It’s nauseating to hear Newsom trying to demonize oil companies for California’s high gas prices when California drivers are being gouged with the highest gas taxes in the country because of Newsom and Democrat policies. Newsom needs to be held accountable and be brought before a tribunal and for his many crimes against humanity such as locking healthy Californians and small businesses down (while excluding himself and his cronies) during the scamdemic, for mandating experimental mRNA shots that have injured and killed thousands of innocent Californians, and for making California a mecca for killing babies and mutilating trans surgeries. He has a lot to answer for!
California’s ban on gasoline engines and this tax scheme is a violation of the Interstate Commerce Act – and should be challenged on that basis.
“The ICA prohibits state laws and regulations which interfere with or discriminate against interstate commerce.”
You are wrongly stereotyping the people I know who are conservative and fit the white college older women demographic. Often true, but stereotyping comments makes writers look very close minded.
The anti profit proposal is a scary step toward state owned businesses and communism.
What a puppet!
They refuse to understand demand and supply, the reason there are less refineries is because cars today are more efficient then you add the mergers and accusistions which happened in the 1990s that the government allowed hence the big two XOM and CVX equals higher prices. With that said I will be adding to my CVX shares thanks to the Demotards.
Governor Newsom (Nuisance) is a failure beyond words! He couldn’t even manage San Francisco as a Mayor and has totally screwed up California! What are people thinking to elect this moron into office? I have NO FAITH IN THE POLITICAL AREANA ANYMORE with their lies and two faced bullsh!t! He & his Democratic party want to kill fossil fuels and go Electric for any combustible engine from weed eaters, lawn mowers to cars. Hell, we can’t even produce enough electrical power now so what does “The Brainiac” have planned next? Does he know that the majority of Lithium is controlled by China who also produces Lithium Batteries for Tesla and ALL ELECTRICAL POWERED EQUIPMENT? So when our fearless leader BIDEN gets us into yet another war… then what? This once great country has gone down the SH!TER for sure! Maybe the RAINBOW PEEPS are gong to save from DOOM….HaHaHa! That’s another Democratic wet dream! GOD help us please!!!
Appreciate your comment, Sparky.
Not sure, though, why people continue to think Newsom and his ilk, both here and across the country, were legitimately elected when we have seen SO MUCH circumstantial evidence that points directly to election cheating and rigging. It’s a mess but at the very least, awareness is the best first step to action. And you might want to consider a donation to Fix California, Ric Grenell’s outfit that has worked hard to address the problem in CA.