Anyone who has bought gas in the last year knows we’re all paying more nowadays. But some are paying more more than others, including Washingtonians. As of this writing, we pay about 15% (almost $0.70/gal) more than the national average. Why? It’s a combo of national and local reasons.
Here are Five Fast Facts on Washington’s super high gas prices:
- 🤔Take Your Best Guess! One of the biggest drivers of oil and gas prices is speculation. It’s a bit complex, but the idea is that investors buy tomorrow’s oil at a price based on their best guess right now. Investors with enough financial power to buy huge quantities can actually influence the market to produce more (or less) gas based on those future price guesses. This can artificially warp supply and demand – and pricing – for everyone.
- 🇺🇸What’s Driving Speculation Nationally? It’s no secret the Biden administration has been aiming to move away from fossil fuels (he said exactly that throughout his Presidential campaign). And he’s made a lot of moves in office to support that mission - canceling oil leases, cutting off pipeline projects, and so on. It’s hard to get more influential than White House official policy, you know?
- 🌲What’s Driving Speculation Locally? This year, Gov. Inslee signed into law a target of zero new gas-powered cars by 2030. So noble! But is it wise (or even possible)...?
- 💵💵💵Taxes, Taxes, Taxes - It’s all fine and good to talk about speculation, but right now Washingtonians pay one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, about $0.49/gal. If you love taxes, then this is music to your ears!
- 🗺️Location, Location, Location - Another major problem for gas prices is consistent across the West Coast: fuel supply infrastructure. There aren’t enough refineries here, so that means there isn’t enough capacity to meet the demand.
🔥Bottom line: There are other global factors (like the Russia-Ukraine war), but those have less impact. Anyway, put this all together, and you have a situation that’s bad for the country and even worse here. It’s a complex issue with many moving pieces, and some are content to pay more at the pump. But whatever your political slant, Washingtonians should know the biggest drivers of gas prices because that’s what impacts our Paychecks. Now you know.
What do you think we need to do about high gas prices?
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