Rant #2,910: Pump It Up

Yes, the world is good again.
 
I got paid, everything went well during my don’s dental exam—no problems with the insurance, and his teeth are OK—and today is Social Security Day, and all us old fogeys know exactly what that means—we get our monthly pittance in our bank accounts today!!!!!
 
Everything is beautiful, in its own way.
 
What is not so beautiful is that when I go to the pump, I really need all of this money, because gas has become ridiculously priced.
 
Now, we all know that—that is nothing new, whether you are reading this Rant in New York, California or overseas—but let me tell you about the nonsense going on right here in New York, on Long Island, to demonstrate how ridiculous things really are.
 
Both the state and Nassau and Suffolk counties have removed, to certain degress, the gas taxes that we pay on top of the actual money we pay for each gallon of gas. This began on June 1 and will run, depending on the specific tax, until the end of the summer or until the end of the calendar year.
 
That is all fine and good, but let me tell you what I have witnessed.
 
On Wednesday the first of the month, gas did go down at some stations; in fact it went down as much as about 24 cents a gallon.
 
I needed gas, and a station near me went down from $4.79 to $4.55, so I grabbed it, as did many other drivers, as the place was packed with cars.
 
As I drove around, I noticed, however, that most stations had not changed their prices, that they were charging the same amount that they had from the day before.
 
Watching the news, I found out that they were breaking the law by holding off, but they claim that since their last gas delivery was taxed, they would not change the price until they received their next, untaxed delivery.
 
New York State did not take too kindly to this, and told the public to report any station that did not adjust the price on day one.
 
And as of yesterday, although many finally complied, just as many stations did not.
 
And here is the kicker to all of this, or actually, kickers, in plural.
 
First off, the station I went to that had charged $4.55 when I went there continued to charge that price in the morning when I passed it by as I was driving my son to work.
 
But funny, as I came back to pick him up, they had upped the price to $4.63, which defeats the purpose of the tax holiday—you just know that it will continue to rise like this, and it is also illegal in New York State to change the price of gas my mid-day, but go fight that.
 
And then, right around the corner, we have the so-called “summer gas” coming, which hasn’t made its way here yet but will be coming to pumps soon. It is designed for summer driving—or so we are told—and is, at its base, line higher priced than the regular gas we are pumping now.
 
So guess what?
 
New York drivers will be paying more than $5 per gallon at the pump in no time as this phony tax holiday holds together like a ripped Band-Aid over a bloody sore.
 
I guess, as usual, we can thank our politicians for all of this, and if we have our heads on straight, we can thank them even more in November when we vote every last one of them out of office.
 
This situation is truly absurd, but it is to be expected when we have people in office who talk a good game, but rarely deliver on their promises.
 
We need more, not less, oil exploration and projects in the United States, and electric cars are not the answer until 1) they are priced less than regular cars and 2) they give us the same functionality as regular gas-driven cars, a possibility which is still, at best, years away.
 
People are, on average, keeping their gas-powered cars longer, into the double digits in years, and there is a reason for that, actually a bunch of reasons, including the fact that cars are too expensive to begin with, you can’t even get a new car when you want one because of parts not coming in on the supply chain as they once did, and people simply liking their gas cars because of their functionality, from the first drive to repairs to yes, being able to fill up those cars just about wherever you go.
 
So many of the things that we have gotten used to have been usurped by the pandemic that it seems the last pleasure that we have—getting into our cars when we want to  and going from point A to point B and back—is the next thing to go … or that is what many politicians foresee with their declarations of “no more gas powered cars being made in our state” come a certain year in the near future?

 
As with other things that have been taken away from us or rejiggered during the pandemic, I say enough is enough is enough already.
 
But is anyone listening?
 
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.