YES. NEXT QUESTION? Is California’s governor really this clueless about high gas prices and power outages?
Newsom is apparently unaware that the first $1.07 of every gallon comes from California’s fuel taxes and standards, which are the worst in the nation. Fix that, and the governor could slice his constituents’ fuel budget by a quarter.
But that won’t do – the workers actually fueling his state must be to blame.
Newsom has no reason to point fingers. His own energy commission admitted that it “does not have any evidence that gasoline retailers fixed prices or engaged in false advertising.” The commission’s report is located a few lines below their website’s giant heading, “leading the state to a 100% clean energy future.”
California consumers are watching that “clean-energy future” turn into a high-priced present.
Fuel prices crossed the five-dollar threshold due to West Coast refinery outages and instability in Saudi Arabia. As soon as those were resolved, the prices dropped; any high schooler understands supply and demand. If more oil was produced in-state, the price would fall even further.
But Newsom opposes all that.
In July, he fired his top oil and gas regulator for attempting to increase the energy supply by issuing more permits for drilling and fracking.
“I am very angry about the fact that they signed off on this many permits, period,” Newsom said at the time. Now, three months later, he blames the energy companies for not providing cheaper fuel. Perhaps the governor should buy a mirror.
The price at the pump isn’t the only energy crisis enraging the governor.
I love the Babylon Bee’s headline that “Progressive Utopia Of California Becomes First State To Eliminate Electricity Entirely.” I just hope that Newsom is capable of understanding that it’s satire, and not a recommendation for good governance.