Why?
There is so much gasoline being produced in the US that refineries are exporting it, and Americans are WILLING to pay 4 bucks a gallon.
How do YOU fix that?
Maybe not a fix, but it can be helped in a number of ways. Something the government could do right now that would help:
1) Negotiate a deal with the oil companies to lower gasoline prices in the USA in return for no export fees or other costs that would reduce their profits in overseas markets.
2) Negotiate with the states to agree on one uniform formula for regular and premium gasoline sold throughout in the USA. When Kansas regs require one formula and California regs require another formula and Illinois requires still another, the refineries have to shut down much more frequently to retool and reformulate the gasoline.
3) Get rid of the refining mandates that most or all sulfur be removed from diesel fuel. Sulfur emissions had been steadily declining since 1980 and were down around 70% when the new mandate went into effect. Why the mandate? Because the EPA thought catalytic converter efficiency MIGHT be affected by high sulfur content in diesel. They didn't even bother to find out if that would be the case. So, instead of leaving it to the auto parts manufacture to come up with an efficient catalytic converter, they added about $1.00 to the price of a gallon of diesel for the refineries to remove the diesel.
4) Get rid of the ridiculous inclusion of ethanol in motor fuels and return food crops to food for livestock and the kitchen table,.
None of that matters as long as the refineries have overseas buyers willing to pay these prices for gas. What do you think happens to gas prices as more and more Chinese, and Indians, for example, actually get to where they can afford a car?
No. 1 on my list addresses that issues and could take care of it. The other issues are all costs that refineries have to add into the wholesale price of gasoline that the stations have to pass on plus some to cover the taxes and their profit. There is no shortage of domestic fuel supply. So lowering the cost for the manufacturer translates into a lower cost at the pump. A lower cost at the pump then generates more demand as people can afford to travel and drive for pleasure again, and the oil companies would enjoy profits from that too.
In the 1970's, there was supposedly a true gasoline shortage. Stations ran out of fuel and when a station did get a supply, there were long lines and long waits to get your car to the pump while you prayed that the station wouldn't run out of gas or your car wouldn't run out of gas before you got to the pump. That along with high prices for the fuel, high unemployment, double digit inflation, and double digit interest rates was a big reason Jimmy Carter was so thoroughly defeated in his re-election bid.
We are seeing no shortages of fuel anywhere right now. A much different dynamic is in effect.
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