Hillary, Pelosi Lying About Gas Price-Gouging

Washington, DC (TLS). Two of Washington's premier Socialists, Senator Hillary Clinton and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been decrying so-called 'price-gouging' by the big oil companies.

First, it was Hillary with her now-infamous line from her stump speech concerning oil company profits--'We are going to take that money and put it in a fund for the development of alternative forms of energy.'

Spoken like a true Socialist.

Now it is Nancy Pelosi's condemnation of the oil companies this week, reacting to a new national average price of $3.07 per gallon of gas.

Pelosi was incensed by the fact that in her home district of San Francisco, the highest price of gasoline stood at $3.49 per gallon. Thus, she introduced a bill in the House, H.R. 1252, to 'protect consumers from price-gouging.'

Time for a reality check, Ms. Clinton and Ms. Pelosi.

When adjusted for inflation over a 25-year period, the national average for a gallon of gas is actually LOWER today than it was in 1981, just as Jimmy Carter was leaving the White House.

In addition, apparently consumers need protection from GOVERNMENT price gouging rather than gouging by the oil companies!

If anyone would bother to check the actual figures, one would find that the big oil companies make roughly 13 cents per gallon on the gasoline that is sold in America. Out of an average price of $3.07 per gallon, the big oil companies themselves gain a profit of just 13 CENTS PER GALLON.

Would anyone like to guess what THE GOVERNMENT makes on a gallon of gas?

Remember, a huge chunk of what you and I pay at the pump is for TAXES, both state and federal. Thus, for each gallon of gas sold, the federal government makes 18.4 cents per gallon. That is 5.4 cents per gallon higher than what those 'price-gouging' oil companies make!

On top of that, in the state of California, 40.2 cents per gallon goes to the state government. In other words, the state of California makes THREE TIMES the amount of profit the oil companies get from a gallon of gas.

And we are not through yet. Let's look at Pelosi's district alone, shall we? In the San Francisco Congressional district, which Pelosi represents, consumers pay a LOCAL tax on top of the state and federal tax. San Francisco residents pay another 8.2% in local sales taxes for their gasoline.

Thus, for every gallon of gasoline you purchase, you are going to pay at least 58.6 cents per gallon in federal and state taxes, plus 8.2% of the total for your local taxes.

For one gallon of gas, the government gets 58.6 cents plus 8.2% as compared to the 13 cents in profit that goes to the oil companies.

So who is actually doing the gouging here?

This is why I say that Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi are lying, deliberately attempting to deceive the American people.

Let's do the math in a hypothetical situation. Let's say you pull up to the pump in San Francisco in your eco-friendly hybrid, and it so happens you have found one lone gas station selling gasoline at the national average of 3.07 per gallon. Let's say you purchase ten gallons of gas for the total price of $30.70.

Out of that total price of $30.70, the oil companies make a whopping $1.30 in profit. ONE DOLLAR AND THIRTY CENTS out of your tank of gas.

The federal government makes $1.84 in federal taxes...54 cents higher than the 'profit' the oil companies make.

As for the state of California, out of your $30.70 purchase, the state government will get $4.02. Don't let this one escape your attention. The oil companies make one dollar and thirty cents' profit out of your purchase, but the state of California makes FOUR DOLLARS AND TWO CENTS.

We're still not finished yet. We still have to add two dollars and forty-eight cents for the 8.2% local sales tax for San Francisco.

Thus, out of your purchase of $30.70 in gasoline, you will pay $8.34 in federal, state, and local sales taxes. Yet you have paid the big oil companies a mere $1.30 out of your purchase.

And this brings us back to the central point. Why would Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi lie to the American public about so-called 'price gouging' by the big oil companies? In fact, they really do have a great amount of gall to suggest such a thing when the government will get over SIX TIMES that amount per gallon of gas sold.

Naturally, neither Clinton nor Pelosi would view such a thing as highway robbery. As long as the government does it, it is automatically for the 'greater good.' But the minute you let a corporation make a profit--and a tiny one at that--then that company is automatically a price-gouging, evil, corrupt, and malevolent example of capitalism.

Do you want to pay lower prices at the gas pump? Well, you are targeting the wrong people if you strike out at the oil companies. Get these gasoline taxes either lowered or eliminated, and you will automatically save 8 bucks per tank (10 gallons) in the state of California.

If you drive a large vehicle you will save about 16 bucks per tank.

Thus, when you feel the pain at the pump, be sure to remember just what is the biggest source of that pain--the government and not the oil companies.