Snow-bound Californians now paying “Global Warming” gas tax hike
Sacramento’s chickens now coming home to a cold roost.
My family was set to see the snow in the local mountains today, until we discovered thousands of fellow Californians decided they were going to check out this novelty as well.
Interstate 8 east ground to a halt, the mountain town of Julian became completely gridlocked in traffic — and access to several mountain recreation areas was closed off at mid-afternoon Thursday — as thousands of San Diegans went to play in the snow.
The quaint town of Julian was packed Thursday as residents tried to park to find snow, hot pie or other attractions.
“It’s busy, but not too crazy,” said Pistols & Petticoats owner Debbie Mushet. “It’s mainly the restaurants and pie shops that are busy.”
That was confirmed by employee Monique Quijano at Julian Pie Company. “The line is all the way down the street and probably 45 minutes to an hour,” Quijano said.
It may be hard for some of you to believe, but the amount of snow was such a rarity that today’s traffic to see it backed up for miles:
Crazy traffic leaving Ramona for Julian to see the #snow (I was simply heading home after going into town). pic.twitter.com/9GS1c2mYxB
— Cathy Scott (@CathyScott) January 1, 2015
This KPBS News video captures Californians’ excitement over this winter storm.
As of today, there will be an extra price for us to pay to enjoy such outings. In 2006, after being bombarded with “man-made global warming” hysteria, our state legislators approved the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (i.e., AB32) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state and work via a “cap and trade” system. It was then signed into law by “conservative” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to much fanfare.
Sacramento’s chickens are now coming home to roost:
As 2014 comes to an end, so may the downward trend of gas prices. In just the last month, the average price for a gallon of gas dropped more than 40 cents in Fresno. According to AAA, right now the average in Fresno stands at $2.62. It was $3.03 a month ago. Starting January 1st, experts are predicting prices will inch back up and a new California law will help contribute.
…Starting January 1st, though, those declining gas prices aren’t expected to go any lower. The beginning of 2015 also brings with it what some are calling California’s new hidden gas tax, which could range from 15 cents per gallon to up to 75 cents. Some in the Central Valley aren’t happy about the extra cost at the pump. JoAnne Childers of Fresno said, “I don’t like it. It’s just something else to gouge us for.”
A leading taxpayer advocate offers further details:
“California has second highest gasoline tax in the nation now, before this new tax kicks in,” said Richard Rider of San Diego Tax Fighters. “We’ll be No. 1 easily when new tax kicks in.”
….“We’ve got what amounts to taxes in the form of cap and trade and this applies to industries and now it’s going to apply to cars,” Rider said.
…Those costs will be passed on to consumers in addition to the regular state and sales tax. The average price per gallon of regular gasoline in California is $2.65, down one dollar from a year ago. Experts believe the new increase will start at about 12 cents a gallon, which may not be felt with the current low prices — but what happens when prices go back up?
“From Sacramento’s standpoint, it couldn’t have worked out better,” Rider said. “It just happens that the bottom has fallen out of the petroleum industry.”
And what about the supposed realities of “global warming” that this legislation is supposed to prevent? In fact, 2014 has been a very quiet year in terms of “climate change disasters”.
The U.S. lucked out again this year, as large-scale weather catastrophes — including devastating and deadly hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires — were few and far between.
Not since Superstorm Sandy devastated the Northeast in 2012 has a single natural disaster cost the U.S. tens of billions in damage, according to a report released today by CoreLogic. Sandy cost the U.S. about $70 billion.
In California, we don’t really need nature to wreak havoc — our state is the quintessential example of a “man-made economic disaster.”
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Just how many pie shops can a small town have? Must be one helluva pie to wait in line for 45-minutes.
I speak from experience: It is. My son specifically requested one for his birthday this year. 😀
I didn’t realize ‘The Governator’ was behind this tax increase. What a maroon.
I would love to do anything I could to overturn this tax. Is there a petition going around? Planned protest? Yeah, LOL at that. When is the last time us working stiffs actually rallied and protested something? I’d be in though. I have my pitchfork ready. 🙂
I don’t know of a scheduled demonstration, but if you wanted to know about this 6 months ago, subscribe to the free email newsletter put out by HJTA.org.
The Howard Jarvis (Prop 13) Tax Assn covers CA tax issues, esp property tax ones. But I heard about this hike months ago. My wife, co-workers, etc had not heard of it at all.
$1.85 here bro. Filled up the tank on the new truck.
Go ahead, rub it in! 🙂
Didn’t you mention Michelle Bachman was ridiculed for saying $2 gas was possible if government got out of the way?
This is what happens in a one party state were the people are ruled by evil progressive fascists. Their more interested in extracting money from the people then representing them.
To be more precise, the whole state is pretty much ruled by the urban populations…. who don’t see the consequences of their actions first hand.
Yes, California, the role model state for N.Y.. But because we have a 2nd term Gov. who has a penchant for Wall St money and governs from that power base of 8,700,000,000 NY City voters with the balance of all other voters in the remaining major cities of Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, we shall over take this “prestigious” distinction soon enough, if only by default that California files for bankruptcy first.
Stories like these just make me oh-so-glad to be a former resident of California. I feel very badly for conservatives trapped in that formerly beautiful state; you’ve lost the demographic battle and are now stuck watching it circle the bowl. A few more months and I will have successfully extracted my mother (my last close family member still trapped). Thank goodness.
Oh, and I agree with Ms. Eastman: I could see myself waiting 45 minutes for Julian Pie Company pie.
“Sandy cost the U.S. about $70 billion”
That’s in one of the quotes. Hard to say how much private costs really were, but the $70 billion was full of pork, as I remember it. Disasters are opportunities for politicians to hand out billions to friends under cover of chaos.
Christie said they better fork it over, or forget the big donations from the East coast next election, iirc. I’m still not clear how the federal government became the underwriter for beach houses of the rich and famous, with funding from flyover country.
Even the Pope is in on the AGW scam now, as he pushes for the wealthy (not completely corrupted yet) nations to redistribute their (still somewhat free market) production to the poor (fully corrupt and oppressive) nations.
Subsidizing corruption is not a good global plan, but “good work if you can get it” … for the tyrants that is.
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (i.e., AB32)
Global Warming? Are they sure this law is valid?
It isn’t global warming anymore…it’s global climate disruption. That law is so 20th century.
12 cents a gallon? Ah, maybe this month, but when it’s all said and done, it’ll be about $1.50 a gallon.
They don’t care about about the environment, they just want money and power. Environmentalism is a just a good sold to transfer your money and power to them. right now the Cap and trade system favors rich people buying luxury electric cars, while real good that would solve the alleged problem like nuclear power are ignored.
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown .”
That covers the entire state. All we can do is sit back and watch them self-destruct. And perhaps fortify the California borders.
Yes, the entire state. There are no conservatives in California… and look at all the horrific damage the ones who claimed to be conservative have done to the neighboring states once they escaped.
California is FULL of conservatives. The problem is that they’re grossly outnumbered by the libtarded urban areas. Further, the useless CA ‘pubs ceded CA to the ‘rats 25 years ago.
Oregon is and always has been a hippie haven, so don’t blame OR on Californians that move away. NV turned from red to purple because of illegal workers and labor unions. Las Vegas has been corrupt for 80 years and has been run by the ‘rats most of that time. This last election finally put the ‘pubs in control of the state house and the legislature for the first time since 1929. Almost all of NV’s population is in Clark County, which is a big time union town. So don’t blame NV on CA. In AZ, certain counties have had an influx of northeastern libtard retirees, especially around Tucson, and a growing population of illegals all over, so AZ is turning slightly pink from red.
I lived in CA for 57 years. I know. The people leaving CA are true conservatives who had enough. My husband and I are part of the exodus.
I was born and raised in CA, and except for about 4 years in the 1960s when my dad was in the Navy, I’ve lived here my entire life. My comment was a sarcastic response to the very tiresome “blockade California” rhetoric I see on conservative websites every damn day. I am also sick and tired of the direct accusations that should I ever leave, I’ll magically transform into a San Francisco Socialist Liberal the moment I cross the state line, so stay away!!!
Don’t worry Texans, I’ve taken your advice to heart and I’ll never sully your great state with my presence. Should I ever move East, I’ll take I-80.
If you’ve lived most of your life in CA, there is nothing on I-80 that will be warm enough to suit you. Try I-40 instead, and just keep going. Don’t stop in OK, AR or Memphis, and don’t even think about slowing down until you get to at least Nashville. Don’t worry about Texans unless they open fire on you because of your California plates. 😉
As soon as you cross the Tehachapis, it would behoove you to get a bumper sticker or back window sign saying, “Never mind my plates, just passing through.” 🙂
If you get to the southeast, you’ll find that folks here despise northerners a lot more than they do Californians.
The state highway patrols/troopers in OK, AR, and TN LOVE to stop vehicles from CA and hassle Californians, so mind what you do. I was stopped four times in those states moving out here for perceived microscopically small violations. I hadn’t been stopped by a cop in CA in the 26 years before that. None wrote me a ticket; they just wanted to mess with somebody from CA. One stopped me for going 3 mph over the speed limit, one stopped me for having the boat trailer light over the license plat 1″ too low, another stopped me saying my boat cover was flapping loose. It was tied down perfectly all the way around, and when I showed him that, he agreed it was fine. This was after asking me a lot of questions and snooping/eyeballing everything he could see in plain sight. Another one said he noticed a headlight out of adjustment on my Jeep. I showed him the slip from the dealership that did the alignment, tire rotation, headlamp adjustment and brake check two days before we left CA. He looked at them again, and said something to the effect of yeah, I guess they’re okay. Same thing, bunch of nosy questions, checking this and that, paperwork, etc.. This is a newer Jeep and a nice boat and trailer, none of it low-life beater junk. OTOH, my husband was driving a 26′ Penske truck towing a full-sized dolly with our other vehicle on it, but the whole rig happened to have VA plates on it and he wasn’t stopped once.
If you’ve lived most of your life in CA, there is nothing on I-80 that will be warm enough to suit you.
In SoCal no less. However, almost 25 years of that was at Big Bear Lake, so cold (it was -20°F on occasion, -10°F lots of times) and winter driving doesn’t faze me. On the other hand, the “I-80” quip meant I’d even avoid even driving through Texas, so I wouldn’t taint the place with CA cooties.
..
For what it’s worth, an ex-girlfriend’s daughter lives near Coeur d’Alene, and she says I would really like northern Idaho and western Montana.
I think you would like Idaho or Montana. We considered them both but ultimately decided that, for us, they’re too cold and too far from the ocean.
🙂 I understood your quip about I-80, hence my quip about don’t worry about Texans unless they start shooting.
No gas price increase here in Calif yet. Has there been an increase where you are in Texas?