gas prices

Big Oil Prices

Ethanol's ability to extend the gasoline supply and displace costly petroleum-derived octane sources has resulted in real savings at the pump for the nation's consumers.[read more]

the new poor?

Now that a greater portion of the poor are living in suburbs, communities that exist thanks to the invention of the automobile, they are likely to be even more vulnerable to the “regressive tax” that is high gas prices.[read more]

price at the pump

The oil industry uses high prices to make big profits, spends them to keep their tax breaks, and then pushes for more dirty, unconventional oil like Canadian tar sands — which will not have any impact on gasoline prices.[read more]

gas prices

By now, who hasn’t heard about the oil boom in the United States? Higher oil prices and new extraction techniques are largely credited for creating a rash of new oil fields. But how much of a boom is this really?[read more]

Michael-John Wolfe / Shutterstock.com

Even with the current boom in oil production, we should not get our hopes up for a significant drop in prices. Although the world is producing more oil than ever, demand continues to soar.[read more]

Gas Prices via Shutterstock

I don't know if the Speaker of Virginia's House of Delegates intended a double entendre when he referred to the state gasoline tax that Governor Bob McDonnell (R) just proposed eliminating as a "dinosaur tax".  He was certainly correct that this tax is rapidly becoming outmoded as its capacity to keep pace...[read more]

One idea advanced by proponents of anti-price gouging laws is that after disaster strikes people should put aside their usual self-interests, join in with the community, and share in the burden of recovery. What these proponents often miss is that normal market adjustments will support a sharing in the burden of recovery, even among...[read more]

Gas Prices via Shutterstock

With New Jersey about to end the odd-even gasoline rationing imposed in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we have an opportunity to consider whether this kind of response actually produces better outcomes than the price increases by which the market would normally balance supply and demand. Most of the defenses of "price gouging" that I've seen, including Matthew Yglesias's recent posting in Slate, tend to focus mainly on its supply-side aspects.[read more]

When Hurricane Sandy was forecast to make landfall on the East Coast, I advised people to top off their automobiles with fuel. There were a number of reasons for that, and some people in New York and New Jersey are learning those reasons the hard way.When a hurricane hits an area, it can damage refining infrastructure, fuel terminals,...[read more]

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John Carney proposes declaration of free-trade zones for gasoline in shortage-afflicted areas. Prices could stay regulated elsewhere, but consumers and merchants would gain the option to trade at higher prices within the zones. Great idea, but there is zero chance that very visible politicians will want to be upstaged by an invisible...[read more]

In the second presidential debate of 2012 an attendee asked President Obama, “Your energy secretary, Steven Chu, has now been on record three times stating ‘It’s not policy of this department to help lower gas prices.’ Do you agree with Secretary Chu, that this is not the job of the Energy Department?” The question went essentially...[read more]

Fuel Prices via Shutterstock

Surprisingly, gasoline prices were front and center in last night’s Presidential debate –surprisingly, because gasoline prices would seem to be one of those issues that are largely out of a President’s hand. The single largest variable that influences gasoline prices is the price of crude oil and it is hard for the United States to influence the global oil market, especially right now given the extensive instability in the Middle East.[read more]

Gas Prices via Shutterstock

How much higher were gasoline prices in California last week than elsewhere?  Enough to raise the national average price for unleaded regular by about $0.10 per gallon.  So while the rest of us were paying an average of $3.75/gal., down slightly from the previous week, gas prices in the Golden State went up by 48 cents,...[read more]

Hoping for lower prices at the pump? Don’t hold your breath. Here’s why.During presidential election years, pretty much anything can become a political football. And so it‘s not surprising that with gasoline prices well above $3 a gallon, the cost of gasoline has become a topic on the stump. Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans—as well...[read more]

Governments and economists around the world have not figured out that what the world economy is suffering from, to varying degrees, is “high-priced fuel syndrome“.High-priced fuel syndrome has a number of symptoms:Slow economic growth, or contractionPeople in discretionary industries laid off from workHigh unemployment ratesDebt defaults...[read more]