Gov. Newsom Smears USC Professor Mische for Reporting CA is Facing $8.43/gallon Gas as Refineries Close

Last week the Globe reported that California gas prices could escalate 75% to $8.43 per gallon in 2026 due to the pending shutdowns of two major in-state refineries, according to USC Professor Michael Mische.

“California can ill afford the loss of one refinery, let alone two,” says Professor Mische in a new report warning of an impending gas crisis this summer.

“In 1982, California satisfied 62% of its petroleum needs from in-state oil producers,” says Professor Mische. “Since 1990, California’s imports of petroleum from non-U.S. producers have increased by a staggering 713%. While California was becoming more dependent on foreign sources, the overall U.S. became less dependent.”

For his warning, Professor Mische was rewarded with a very nasty smear from Governor Gavin Newsom accusing the professor of being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia:

Before going any further, this is the short bio for Prof. Mische at the Globe:

“Professor Michael Mische has been a member of the USC faculty since 1997, responsible for teaching and coordinating USC’s Marshall management consulting undergraduate and graduate curricula and programs. Mische brings over 43 years of global management consulting experience in strategic planning, mergers, turnarounds and strategic innovation to both the classroom and clients.”

It’s apparent that Prof. Mische knows what he is talking about.

In a statement to KTLA, Mische said:

“Allegations have been leveled as to being an ‘agent’ of, working for or on behalf of, and being ‘bankrolled’ by Saudi Arabia. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the allegations are patently inaccurate and without substance and merit. For the record, my work in Saudi Arabia had absolutely nothing to do with petroleum, and I received no payments from any Saudi petroleum company or any oil company,” Mische told KTLA. He said his Vision 2030 work involved steering the Saudi economy away from fossil fuels.”

Professor Mische’s research has raised legitimate questions about the state’s energy future, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said Monday:

“Rather than engaging with the data or addressing Californians’ growing concerns about affordability, Governor Newsom is targeting an academic professor simply because he doesn’t like the conclusions,” said Senate Minority Leader Jones (R-San Diego). “This kind of petty politics and slanderous attack is not statesmanlike. Californians deserve better than a governor who hides behind communications staffers while attempting to discredit and slander respected experts.

The governor’s so-called “Rapid Response” team has reached out to reporters with false and defamatory claims about Professor Mische and his motives. Professor Mische is a widely published and highly respected scholar who has published more than 150 papers, many focused on California’s oil and gas sector.

The Globe knows about the governor’s so-called “Rapid Response” team, led by Brandon Richards (He/Him), having been on the receiving end of some crazy disinformation and threats demanding we retract articles – well sourced, documented and linked articles.

Sen. Jones continues:

“If the Governor believes Professor Mische’s projections are flawed, there’s a better path: ask the many highly-paid experts within his own administration”, continued Leader Jones. “The California Independent System Operator, appointed by Newsom himself, has the background and independence to weigh in on the basic economics of gasoline supply and demand. As the ISO would likely affirm, the closure of two in-state refineries would reduce supply and, logically, drive up prices. That’s not bias, it’s basic economics.”

As the Globe reported in March, “Governor Gavin Newsom, who is currently preoccupied with his new vanity podcast may want to consider talking to oil and gas industry officials – something he has failed to do in his 6 years as California’s governor.

There is no excuse for Newsom’s negligence of an industry which is an economic powerhouse in the state, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs, over $50 million in paychecks to workers, and billions in state, local and federal taxes.”

The oil and gas industry has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the state’s economy and Gavin Newsom won’t talk to them. Instead Newsom is regulating the viability out of California’s oil and gas industry.

In March, the Globe reported on a study also by Professor Mische which found that the factors contributing to California’s high gasoline prices over 50-years are self-imposed by state officials and politicians – using 50 years of data. It turns out that California is its own worst enemy. And Governor Newsom and his administration of radical climate change disciples are a significant part of chasing Chevron out, and the upcoming closure of two refineries.

The Globe reported on Chevron’s announcement last August and their corporate relocation to Houston Texas from the Bay Area, where it was based since 1879:

“California’s own Chevron Oil company is moving its headquarters to Houston, Texas from San Ramon, California, the latest big business to flee the Golden State. Chevron is in good company joining X/Twitter, Space X, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, Charles Schwab, and Toyota Motor North America, to name a few of the mega-businesses leaving California because of the state’s leftist/Marxist politics and regulatory environment.

This comes as no surprise to anyone watching California Governor Gavin Newsom deflect from his own debacles and radical policies to the oil and gas industry, demonizing producers and refiners as evil polluters and price gougers, even filing a lawsuit last year against five of the largest oil companies, including Chevron.”

While Newsom prioritizes climate change schemes at the expense of the oil and gas industry, a timely report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) in March revealed the significant role oil and gas plays in California’s economy.

The report found that:

• Across California, the oil and gas industry supports 536,770 jobs, generates $53 billion in labor income, and contributes $166 billion of economic activity to California’s Gross State Product (GSP).
• Additionally, it generates $47.9 billion in state and local taxes and $16.3 billion in federal taxes.

The oil and gas industry is an economic powerhouse, and Gov. Newsom and his handlers want to shut it down and run it out of the state. And apparently by any means necessary, including trying to destroy a college professor who delivered studies which don’t comport with Newsom’s ideology… or his electability.

In November, Professor Mische published an op-ed in the Globe, warning that “a significant increase in the retail price of gasoline that Californians will pay at the pump is expected for 2025. The projected increase could drive California’s retail gasoline prices to exceed the national average by as much as 62% by late 2025. The increase will contribute to inflation, add to the exceptionally high cost of living in California where only 16% of residents can afford to buy a home, and has a disproportionate and adverse impact on lower income Californians.”

The Governor and his minions should thank Professor Michael Mische for his expertise, and maybe instead draw on Econ 101 basics from him.