Thursday, October 16, 2008

Tennessee gas prices badly shocking to visitors

Friends visiting from Oklahoma City were stunned at Tennessee gas prices.

Despite media reporting, they say gas prices here are stunningly high. Before coming here, they were paying $2.49 per gallon. Across the Tennessee border, it was $3.49. Since then our prices have fallen to $3.23 around around Nashville.

The same probably has happened in Oklahoma. So what gives? Why do Oklahomans get to pay $1 less per gallon? Filling up their tanks, that's a savings of $35 each time they fill up a vehicle over there instead of here.

Oklahoma does produce oil but in no way is the state a major producer anymore. The better answer may be that Tennessee lawmakers have larded on a lot of hidden taxes and fees that to keep our gas high. And I smell the roadbuilders as the beneficiaries.

Gas prices will turn sharply up after OPEC nations meet Nov. 13. They will curtail their production of oil to rescue their economies that depend on high oil prices. That will happen as refineries here switch over to less gas production and more heating oil for the winter. We're going to get crunched by $4.50 per gallon gas prices before the year ends.

As the economy continues to decline going into 2009, we must keep our lawmakers honest and accountable to us first, and not special interests. Fighting high gas prices here is the first place to start and making lawmakers remove those fees that make visitors shake their heads at our aloofness.

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