Continuing the theme of governments raising taxes that disproportionately affect the poor in the name of the environment: California's new gas tax is stupid. I

Continuing the theme of governments raising taxes that disproportionately affect the poor in the name of the environment: California's new gas tax is stupid. In what is already one of the most expensive states to live in the per gallon gas tax increased by 40% on Wednesday. That means that the total state and federal taxes come out to about 77 cents [1] per gallon. While 77 cents doesn't seem like much, consider that the average cost per gallon of gas in California is around $3.10 [2], which puts the effective tax rate at around 25%. A 25% tax rate is absolutely insane in a country where you need a car to get around. Take into account the 53 cents per mile the IRS uses as its estimator of the cost of driving a vehicle [3], the average one-way commute distance is about 8 miles [4], and the average fuel economy for California drivers is around 24 miles per gallon [5], this works out to about $10 per day in just regular vehicle expenses, or around $300 per month. For the poor in California this is just another example of how expensive it can be to be poor. [1]: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/sd-fi-california-gastax-20170413-story.html http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/sd... [2]: http://www.californiagasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx http://www.californiagasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx [3]: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2017-standard-mileage-rates-for-business-and-medical-and-moving-announced https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2017-standard-mileage-rates-for... [4]: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-typical-commutes-for-every-big-metro-area-2015-03-25 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-typical-commu... [5]: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-cars-fuel-economy-epa-20141008-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-cars-fuel-eco...