SmashMouth

Californians already pay the nation's second highest gas tax at 68 cents a gallon -- and now it will go up again in January to pay for a first-in-the-nation climate change law.

"I didn't know that," said Los Angeles motorist Tyler Rich. "It's ridiculous."

"I think it’s terrible," added Lupe Sanchez, pumping $4.09-a-gallon gas at a Chevron near Santa Monica. "The economy, the way it is right now with jobs and everything, it's just crazy."

When gas prices go up, motorists typically blame oil companies, Arab sheiks and Wall Street speculators. This time they can blame Sacramento and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for passing a bill requiring California to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The tax on carbon already raised about $1 billion in revenue by requiring manufacturers and utilities to buy credits for each ton of carbon emitted into the atmosphere. At the beginning of next year, the law will also apply to oil and gas. Refiners and distributors say they will pass another $2 billion in costs on - largely to consumers.

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dam1953

Idiots. Doesn't California realize that this is only a Texas jobs program in disguise?

saintfan

California is following the European model, surprise surprise.

Oh and by the way, the European model has done nothing and carbon emissions have not been reduced and in fact have risen.

Liberals are plain stupid.

California sold all the carbon credits it offered this year. That money goes into a "greenhouse gas reduction" fund. But it isn't just used to reduce emissions. They use it to build low-income housing near BART and MUNI hubs and to build high speed rail between Nor Cal and So Cal.

All this after they literally renamed the gas tax while Arnold was Gov so he could legally use it for these very same things.

It's a joke. A farce. There are lots of well-intentioned people living out here whos ideals are corrupted by the liberal political agenda, and at any cost.

Stupid is as stupid does.

C'mon Man...

dam1953

California legislators make Forrest Gump look like Einstein. The only thing that has saved many Europe countries from total economic collapse is that the different countries speak different languages....and they still don't like each other. So, the middle-upper, tax paying class has no place to run seeking a haven.

The same ain't so in the good ole USA.

Will the last tax payer out of CA please turn out the lights.