[VIDEO] James Lacy — Why CA Gas Prices Remain Sky-High

James Lacy, author of Taxifornia, explains to Fox Business’ Stuart Varney how CA’s over-the-top environmental regulations cause the state’s gas prices to soar above the rest of the nation.

Via: California Political Review

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Heritage busts Obama gas price myths

Heritage has decided to take Obama to task and bust the lies he’s told about why gas prices are so high and also what he can do about it:

As Americans across the country gas up their cars for their Memorial Day getaways this year, their wallets will take a bigger-than-usual hit. That’s because gas prices are up $1.06 from last year according to a study by AAA. In fact prices have more than doubled since President Obama took office. And while the media has been slow to demand answers of the President, he has been busy trying to deflect attention away from his incoherent energy policy with a number of gas price-related myths. From overstating the impact of green energy to downplaying the devastating impact of his drilling moratorium, the President should spend less time trying to deflect criticism and more time working to ease pain at the pump.

Via: Heritage 
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October Surprise: Gas prices could soon drop 50 cents a gallon

USA TODAY - Autumn gasoline prices are about to drop faster than fall foliage.

With inventories rising and demand waning, gasoline prices could plunge 50 cents a gallon from October's $3.86 peak average over the next few weeks, providing a lift for the economy and possibly becoming a factor in next month's presidential election.

Gasoline, now averaging $3.69 a gallon, is expected to fall to $3.35 or lower by late November. In some regions, prices have already sunk below $3.

"Most of the country is heading appreciably lower the next few weeks,'' says Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, who notes wholesale prices in some key markets have dropped from as high as $4.35 a gallon to $2.71. Pump prices typically lag big wholesale drops. But Kloza expects retail prices to sink five to 15 cents a gallon over each of the next three weeks.

The drop could provide a boost to consumer spending and influence next month's presidential race, where gas prices have been a hot-button issue for much of the campaign. Several battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are enjoying big price drops.

"Certainly, lower gas prices are helpful in terms of consumer spending by increasing disposable income,'' says Brian Bethune, chief economist at Alpha Economic Foresights. "And if prices come down at a rapid rate in the next three weeks, that would tend to help the incumbent. It may not be logical, but if people see problems with the high cost of food or gas, it's the president who tends to get the blame."

Gas prices have remained stubbornly high well past their traditional Memorial Day weekend peak, due largely to supply shortages and refinery woes on the West Coast and Midwest. But with oil inventories rising and production issues ebbing, prices have been easing the past week, a trend likely to accelerate. "This is very much gravity at work,'' Kloza says. "The faster prices soar, the more prone they are to panic sell-offs."

Candy Crowley Let Obama Have Last Word 8 Out Of 11 Times…

What are the odds for getting the last word in a debate with Barack Obama? If the moderator is Obama-sycophant Candy Crowley, the odds are 8 to 3 against you.

That’s what happened to Mitt Romney in the second presidential debate. Of the eleven questions Crowley allowed to be asked, eight times Obama got the last word, while Crowley deigned to give Romney only three.

Not only did Obama receive three more minutes to speak, he was also given the gift of ending the discussion. Here’s how it played out:

1. Employment on graduation: Romney then Obama; followup: Romney then Obama

2. Secretary Chu and Gas Prices: Obama then Romney; followup: Obama then Romney; 2nd followup: Obama

3. Romney’s tax plans, deductions & credits: Romney then Obama then Romney; followup to Obama; 2nd followup to Romney

4. Female wages: Obama then Romney then Obama

5. Romney like Bush: Romney then Obama

6. Not optimistic, expensive prices: Obama then Romney

7. Immigration: Romney then Obama

8. Benghazi: Obama then Romney; followup: Obama then Romney

9. Assault weapons: Obama then Romney; followup: Romney then Obama

10. Outsourcing: Romney then Obama; followup: Romney then Obama

11. Misperception about candidate: Romney then Obama

The only reason the number favors Obama 8 to 3 and not 9 to 2 is that on question 8, Obama made the last speech, but Romney had the floor at the end, when he bantered with Obama.

Not only did Crowley interrupt Romney far more times than Obama, 28 to 9, and treat Romney with great disrespect, she was determined to obstruct him from having the last word. She was in league with Obama from the start.

But in the end, the last word will rest with the American people, and they know a rat when they see one. Or, in this case, two.

Via: Breitbart

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Obama's Quasi-Tax Increases

When most people think about taxes, the first thing that comes to mind are federal and state taxes.  Some will remember sales taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. 

What unites all of these taxes are that they are burdens placed by government on the citizens of America.  When we talk about the full tax burden Americans endure, it behooves us to count all of the ways in which the government forces us to spend our money.

To understand the full tax burden of Americans, we need to look at all the government does that directly financially impacts each American.  For example, since 9/11, every time you fly, you have to allocate an extra hour or more to deal with security.  That hour you lose is a burden imposed by the government that does not show up on your regular tax bill, but since time is money, that hour does impact your life.

Any sort of government imposed non-tax financial burden can be called a quasi-tax in that it takes money out of the pockets of Americans, but it is not levied in the manner normal taxes are, and the money does not necessarily go directly to the government.

These quasi-taxes can have a huge impact on both the economy and the financial well-being of every American.  Additionally they can be extremely regressive and disproportionately target those Americans with the least money.

Obama has imposed a number of highly regressive quasi-taxes on Americans since he assumed office in 2009.

The price of gas has doubled under Obama.  While that entire price change is not Obama's fault, his support for dramatic reductions in new drilling permits on federal lands and his inept foreign policy in the Middle East have contributed to reducing the oil supply and hence increasing the price of gasoline.

Via: American Thinker

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Gasoline Prices More than Double Under Obama: $1.84 to $3.85

In this Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 photo gasoline prices are displayed at a Mobil station in Needham, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

(CNSNews.com) – Average retail gasoline prices have more than doubled under President Obama, according to government statistics, rising from $1.84 per gallon to $3.85 per gallon.
The average gasoline price is calculated by the Energy Information Agency, and shows that over the past 43 months of President Obama’s term retail gasoline prices have more than doubled, rising from an average of $1.84 per gallon to $3.85 per gallon
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Rising gasoline prices were particularly prevalent in August, which saw a 9.0 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for gasoline, a rise that almost entirely accounts for the general increase in prices seen by families across the country over the past month.

In other words, the recent spike in prices for all goods – tracked by the government’s Consumer Price Index – can be almost entirely accounted for by the rise in gasoline prices. Prices in the economy rose by 0.6 percent overall in August
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“The seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index was the largest since June 2009. About 80 percent of the increase was accounted for by the gasoline index, which rose 9.0 percent and was the major factor in the energy index rising sharply in August after declining in each of the four previous months,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a press release announcing the new CPI figures for August.

Over the past twelve months, general prices have risen 1.7 percent, BLS reported.
CPI is a measure of the average change in prices for goods and services in the economy seen by consumers – making it the leading indicator of the inflation experienced directly by consumers throughout the country.

Via: CNS News
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Obama thinking of tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Because nothing is worse in an election season than rising gas prices.

The White House is "dusting off old plans" for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining sanctions against Iran, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.

U.S. officials will monitor market conditions over the next few weeks, watching whether gasoline prices fall after the September 3 Labor Day holiday, as they historically do, the source said.

It was too early to detail the size of any release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and other international stockpiles if a decision to proceed was taken, the source said.

Oil prices have surged in recent weeks, with Brent crude prices closing in on $120 a barrel, up sharply from below $90 a barrel in June. The United States and other Group of Eight countries studied a potential oil release in the spring but shelved the plans when prices dropped.

As prices rise again, U.S. officials were now collecting information from the market about potential needs and studying futures, production numbers and data on Iranian oil exports.

"The driving force in this is both impact on the economy and impact on the Iran sanctions policy," the source said, noting that Washington did not want rising oil prices to create a windfall for Iran while international sanctions were having an effective impact on its crude exports and revenues.

Via: American Thinker

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