🚀 go-pugleaf

>>If you have had it with California's ultra-high gas prices, visit this 
>>page to download a petition and make a stand.
>>
>>Our politicians will only pay attention to us if we show them IN WRITING 
>>that we are upset, and we vote.
>
>  Have you heard of the free market?  Please learn from the '70s gas lines,
>  and don't look to government to fix your little problems.  If you don't want
>  to pay for gas, don't!
>
>   [Name deleted]
>   Burlington Vermont
    ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^

For the benefit of those of you who are not familiar with
the gas situation in California, you might want to
familiarize yourselves with some recent events before
posting responses:

The California legislature recently mandated a new gasoline
formulation.  When this requirement took effect, gas prices
jumped approximately 20 cents a gallon overnight.
(This increase was over and above the recent increases
that the rest of the country was experiencing.)
California is the only state in the union that sells this
particular formulation of gas  (and for all I know, the only place
in the world).  There are only a few refineries in the
country that are equipped to produce this type of gasoline.
This action of the legislature has created a seller's market
in gasoline for the few oil companies that produce it.

Yes, it is conceivable that other producers will eventually
modify their refineries to produce this type of gas for
shipment to California, but the action of the legislature
has distorted the market.

In view of this, I do not think
it would be unreasonable from a free-market perspective
for the citizens of California
to petition the legislature to remove or modify the
requirements that it imposed.