Another reason for the high price of gas
Edwin Feulner writing for RealClearPolitics.com makes an interesting point:
Meanwhile, Congress forces refiners to use ethanol in their fuel blends. A large part of the recent increase in gasoline prices has occurred because the price of ethanol has almost doubled in the last year, and logistical hurdles block its widespread use. Remove these mandates, and prices will decline.
So a portion of the blame for higher prices can be attributed to those who insisted we needed to convert gasoline in the islands to ethanol. In other words, you did it to your selves.
Another point Feulner makes is equally interesting:
Meanwhile, the president recently called on oil companies to reinvest profits in new refining technology. They probably would, if they could. But legislation and
regulation have made it virtually impossible to open a new refinery; we haven’t brought a new refinery online in three decades. No wonder prices are skyrocketing.
Every time someone calls the petroleum industry in Hawaii an “oligarchy” this should be the retort. The “oligarchy” (if we accept this flawed premise) is because it is impossible for any new company to enter the market. New players, such as Costco, must import gasoline refined elsewhere. In reality there are seven major retailers on Oahu: Chevron, Tesoro, Shell, Aloha, Mid Pac, Costco, and Trustreet and that isn’t an oligarchy.
There hasn’t been a refinery built in nearly 30 years, (the last one here ironically) and until there is the people who complain about the price of gas should look in the mirror.