For release: 10/27/26
Fill ’er up and pass the loan application
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
SAN FRANCISCO – If media interviews with voters are to be believed, some people – perhaps many – will cast their midterm votes based on the high price of gasoline.
It’s one thing to read about high California gas prices, it’s another to fill up my 20-gallon rental car with regular gas costing more than $6 at most stations. The cost of premium gas is close to $7. That means if the tank is empty, the price is well over $100. With driving the way most people get around this big state and with freeways eating up the petrol, some people might think they need a loan application every time the gas gauge gets close to empty.
Even The Washington Post admits what most of its favored Democrat politicians won’t. A front-page story in last Saturday’s newspaper said: “Voters are angry about everyday costs, but lower prices are gone for good. Even if Democrats win control of Congress on Nov. 3, lawmakers can do little about prices that are uncomfortably high – and will stay that way even as the rate of inflation is expected to slow.
So much for all of those campaign ads from Republicans and Democrats promising they will, if elected, lower prices on everything from gasoline to food.
President Trump claims gas prices will fall after the election and Iran is defeated in the ongoing war. That could be another empty campaign promise, or it might happen.
In California, consider all of the fees and taxes that raise the price of a gallon of gas to near-record highs (they were only slightly higher during the Biden administration when Democrats said it was the market, not the president, that determines prices).
- State Excise Tax: 63.4 cents (increased from 59.6 cents on July 1, 2026, due to annual inflation adjustments).
- Federal Excise Tax: 18.4 cents (fixed nationally).
- State and Local Sales Tax: Varies by region, averaging roughly 2.25% to sales tax allocations (adding about 10 to 13 cents depending on the county).
- Underground Storage Tank (UST) Fee: 2.0 cents.
- Cap-and-Trade Program: Adds roughly 24 to 25 cents per gallon.
Lower or eliminate some of the add-ons and gas might be less expensive.
Most people have heard that building new refineries would help lower prices, but environmentalists, the cost and the time it takes to build them are used as excuses for doing nothing.
If I may be permitted some nostalgia. When I first started driving the price of gas was 30 cents a gallon. You could fill-up on pocket change. When I lived in Houston in 1969, there were “gas wars.” Stations undercut each other hoping to attract enough customers to make up for the low price.
How low? I once bought regular gas at a Gulf station for 19 cents a gallon. Don’t look for those days to return. The Arab oil boycott in the early ’70s began the price hikes and people were bummed when the cost exceeded $1 a gallon (as many were when tickets to Broadway shows went over $10. Those were the days).
In previous eras someone would take the lead in solving a problem, rather than using the problem to batter his or her
political opponent. The problem for today’s politicians is that too many would rather use the problem as a weapon against their opponent, because if you solve a problem you no longer have the issue.
California’s high gas prices can be solved, as they can for the rest of the nation. All we need is the right leadership.
Does anyone know where to find it?
Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
(C) 2026 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
