OPINION:
SAN FRANCISCO — If media interviews with voters are to be believed, some people — perhaps many — will cast their midterm votes based on the high price of gasoline.
It is one thing to read about California’s high gas prices. It is quite another to fill up my 20-gallon rental car with regular gas costing more than $6 a gallon at most stations here in San Francisco.
The cost of premium gas is close to $7. That means that if the tank is empty, the price is well over $100.
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With driving being the way most people get around this big state and with freeways eating up petrol, some people might think they need to apply for a loan every time the gas gauge gets low.
Even The Washington Post acknowledges what most of its favored Democratic politicians will not. A front-page story in Saturday’s newspaper read: “Voters are angry about everyday costs, but lower prices are gone for good. Even if Democrats win control of Congress on Nov. 3, lawmakers can do little about prices that are uncomfortably high — and will stay that way even as the rate of inflation is expected to slow.”
So much for all those campaign ads from Republicans and Democrats promising that if elected, they will lower prices on gasoline and food.
President Trump claims that gas prices will fall after the elections and Iran is defeated in the ongoing war. That could be another empty campaign promise — or it might happen.
In California, consider all the fees and taxes that raise the price of a gallon of gas to near-record highs. The price was only slightly higher during the Biden administration, when Democrats said it was the market, not the president, that determined prices.
State excise tax: 63.4 cents, which increased from 61.2 cents on July 1, 2026, because of annual inflation adjustments.
Federal excise tax: 18.4 cents, fixed nationally.
State and local sales tax: Varies by region; the state rate is 2.25%, with local district taxes added on top, adding about 10 cents to 13 cents per gallon depending on the county.
Underground storage tank fee: 2 cents.
Cap-and-Trade program: Adds roughly 24 to 25 cents per gallon.
Lower or eliminate some of the add-ons, and gas might be less expensive.
Most people have heard that building more refineries would help lower prices, but environmentalists cite the cost and time required to build them as excuses for inaction.
If I may be permitted some nostalgia, when I first started driving, the price of gas was 30 cents a gallon. You could fill up on pocket change. When I lived in Houston in 1969, there were “gas wars.” Stations undercut one another, hoping to attract enough customers to offset the low price.
How low? I once bought regular gas at a Gulf station for 19 cents a gallon. Do not look for those days to return.
The Arab oil embargo of 1973 sparked price hikes, and people were bummed when the cost exceeded $1 a gallon — though that threshold was not crossed nationally until the second oil shock of 1979, as many were when tickets to Broadway shows exceeded $10. Those were the days.
In previous eras, someone would take the lead in solving a problem rather than using the problem to batter his or her political opponent, as politicians do today. If they solve the problem, they can no longer blame anyone for it.
California’s high gas prices can be solved, as can the high gas prices of the rest of the nation. All we need is the right leadership.
Does anyone know where to find it?
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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