News outlets across California are reporting on a growing crime called fuel theft. [emphasis, links added]
Here are some examples:
- An Inland Empire resident was leaving get off work at an area hospital on Sept. 27 when her pickup truck suddenly stopped. Investigation revealed her water tank had been drilled and emptied.
- On July 10, tens of thousands of gallons of diesel were lost at a Valero gas station in Fremont to thieves who used a device that bypassed pump safety devices and diverted the fuel into a specially configured pickup truck..
- On July 2, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office charged two men with fuel theft involving the theft of $90,000 worth of diesel fuel.
- On March 1, East Bay law enforcement reported a series of “destructive natural gas thefts resulting from drilling of gas storage tanks.”
- The most recent one was on November 21, Thieves in Otay Mesa, near San Diego, siphoned off 3,000 gallons of stolen fuel from a Circle K gas station. This resulted in a loss of $16,000 to the station.
Gasoline prices in California are one area where the rules of supply and demand don't apply to prices.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Since 2005 Per capita gasoline use is declining by 2 billion gallons per year—a net decrease of 15% over the past 20 years. They attribute the decline to improved fuel economy and increased use of electric vehicles.
This is welcome news to advocates who argue that commercial and personal vehicle use is one of the major contributors to climate change. It does improve local air quality in California's most smog-prone areas.
However, this is very bad news indeed for California tax collectors, as fuel tax revenue is expected to exceed $7 billion in 2024/2025, and according to basic economic laws, fuel tax revenue should decline with consumption .
The California Air Resources Board recently adopted updated low-carbon fuel standards that are expected to increase gasoline prices by 47 cents per gallon or more.
California already has the most expensive fuel costs and the highest taxes in the United States. According to AAA, As of November 24, The average price per gallon in California is $4.45, while the national average is only $3.05.
According to Fox News, Michael Miche, a professor at the University of Southern California, estimated By 2025, the increase will cost California's 31 million drivers an extra $1,000 a year to make up for the increase.
A study from the University of Pennsylvania estimated By 2030, the CARB tax will increase to 85 cents per gallon.
There is a self-evident truth in law enforcement When the government makes it too difficult or expensive to obey the law, noncompliance with the law and even crime are inevitable.
This is true for traffic fines because judges and county executives know that if they raise fines and forfeitures too high, revenue will actually go down. Ever wonder why there is so much trash on the roadside? Find out what landfill fees are in your county and when they are restricted.
The two types of people who follow the principle of supply and demand are thieves and scorners.
In the event of retail theft, California is already seeing the consequences, with retailers forced to close or forced to raise prices to cover losses and increased safety costs. The closures have a direct impact on California's local governments, which rely primarily on sales taxes for funding.
Proposition 36, which passed in November, expressed frustration with these thefts and perhaps an understanding that they hurt everyone economically, especially working and middle-class people.
However, if the benefits outweigh the risks, the thief faces the threat of being discovered, arrested, and prosecuted. In the case of fuel theft, it may also be a last resort.
When fuel prices reduce an individual's or family's ability to feed and house themselves, cheating and theft are obvious choices.
Reading break at Pacific Institute.
