Gas Prices

It's hard not to laugh as we listen to Republicans attacking President Barack Obama over sky-high gas prices. As we all know, the Republican Party has long been in the pocket of the oil and gas industry, allowing them to reap obscene profits during the eight-year reign of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney at the expense of the American consumer. Where were these Republican hypocrites then, when gas prices reached $5-a-gallon in some states? Perhaps, it's time for President Obama to revisit the windfall profit tax on the oil and gas industry which he shelved in a show of bipartisanship when he took office four years ago. I suspect the mere threat of this would send gas prices tumbling.

Gas won't get any cheaper than this. BJ's Wholesale Club will sell regular unleaded fuel for $2.50 a gallon starting at 6:30 a.m. Thursday at its White Marsh store gas station.  The discounter is tying the promotion to Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, at a time when gas prices have climbed 4 cents a gallon in a month, GasBuddy.com says. As of Tuesday, regular gas in Maryland averaged $3.50 a gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Memorial Day weekend is typically a time to hit the road.

So, gas is going up to $5 per gallon, probably more. Hey, this could be a real problem. In fact, it's a huge problem for the hard-working Americans, especially those in the lower middle class. We have to do something about it. An example: Joe Doaks drives his SUV 20 miles one-way to work, 40 miles total. He gets 10 miles per gallon so he burns up four gallons just back-and-forth to work. At $5 per gallon, that's $20 and climbing. And he's not giving up his SUV. The problem is, he only makes $10 an hour, no benefits, so he will be working two hours a day just to cover his transportation costs.

On Memorial Day weekends, Kim Yates and Albert Kullman measure success by speed. Yates steers her bright yellow tow truck toward trouble, with the goal of getting disabled vehicles out of the roadway or back in business before traffic has time to clog. From his toll booth at the Bay Bridge, Kullman can make change for a $10 or $20 in under 12 seconds. "We want you on your way," Yates said. "Safely. " The summer season kicks off this weekend when 718,200 Marylanders are expected to leave town for the beach or mountains, 1.2 percent fewer than a year ago, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

I loved the lengthy article on rising gas prices ("Pumping up the price," Feb. 26). Several years ago, when gas was approaching $2 a gallon, the headlines were screaming how middle America was hocking their wedding rings to be able to put gas in their cars, and what was George W. Bush going to do about it? Yet, now, as the price is approaching $4 a gallon, nowhere in your article was the current president's name mentioned. Why is that? D. Pazourek, Sparks Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

President Barack Obama deserves a hearty "Thank You" from the millions of Americans who are alarmed by historically high gasoline prices for unveiling his sure-fire fix of the problem: tune-ups, algae, windmills, proper tire inflation, the Chevy Volt and a pipeline to nowhere ("Facing heat over gas price rise, Obama vows to speed pipeline's southern leg," March 24). Barry C. Steel, Phoenix

I have a confession to make: In a recent story about perpetually increasing gas prices, The Sun quoted Susan Sutter as saying "someone is lining their pockets, and it sure isn't me" ("Gas-pocalypse?" Jan. 7). I must admit - it's me. Am I among the 1 percent? An oil company executive? A Saudi prince? Nope. I'm just a normal Baltimore resident. Well, mostly normal. I am a little unusual in that I don't have a car (in fact, a third of Baltimore households don't). Instead, I go everywhere by bicycle and transit.

Are you factoring additional fuel costs into your travel plans for this spring and summer? Here are some additional tips and thoughts from experts I spoke with for the story that Hanah Cho and I wrote about the impact of high gas prices on travel: The current trend of adding fuel surcharges on top of base fares is infuriating, said consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott. “They have the gall to quote you this low base fare when no one is able to pay that,” he said.

I am one of the owners of Ray Adolph's Citgo on York Road in Lutherville. Earlier this week, our station was mentioned in an editorial ("A dime's worth of difference," May 23) for having gasoline prices more than 10 cents higher than neighboring stations. While that was accurate, I would like to enlighten the general public as to what occurred that week. On May 9, our station was posting a competitive price for fuel. But looking ahead, I saw on my supplier's web site that the cost of fuel was going to be 10 cents per gallon higher on Tuesday and 20 cents by Wednesday.

Never have I agreed more with Susan Reimer than I did with her column on gas prices ("Driving force behind high gas prices: me," April 2). Has anyone ever seen more than 10 percent of cars with more than one person within and each one with an unnecessary errand? There still remains primarily one 150-pound person per 3,000-pound automobile, and they all have trouble entering the highway. They all, like I, will start a car and drive two miles just to pick up a tube of toothpaste, so why get upset?

Even during the taxing orgy called the legislative session, I am shocked that Maryland legislators nearly doubled the gas tax when gas prices hover near $4 a gallon ("General Assembly approves gas tax hike" Mar 29). People should be taking to the streets over this. Everyone that supported this bill should be voted out of office. It is now clear to me that retirement in this state is not an option. There is no amount of income that could possibly keep pace with the greed of the Maryland government.

To the members of the Maryland General Assembly who voted for the gas tax increase ("House approves increase in gas tax," March 23), we have a few words. Boo! Hiss! How could you go along with the governor's wishes? He's not a king, you know. When gas prices increase, so will the prices of so many things: food, clothing, etc. This will put an added burden on so many people. How could you allow such a thing? Shame on you! Carolyn and Charles Hicks, Joppa Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly are proposing to raise taxes on gasoline by $2 billion over five years to pay for highways, transit and other transportation projects. The legislation endorsed by the governor, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch is a complex plan that would add 2 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas July 1 and another 7 cents a year later. In 2015, it would rise by another 7 cents unless Congress passes a bill to allow states to impose the sales tax on Internet purchases.

I loved the lengthy article on rising gas prices ("Pumping up the price," Feb. 26). Several years ago, when gas was approaching $2 a gallon, the headlines were screaming how middle America was hocking their wedding rings to be able to put gas in their cars, and what was George W. Bush going to do about it? Yet, now, as the price is approaching $4 a gallon, nowhere in your article was the current president's name mentioned. Why is that? D. Pazourek, Sparks Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

As gas prices soared toward $4 per gallon, Fred Price has sought out the best deals at the pump. Even so, the self-employed handyman who drives to jobs throughout Baltimore is feeling the pinch of a more than 40-cent-per-gallon jump in the last month. "I have to cut back on my traveling, and I'm using less help," Price said Monday as he pumped another $30 worth — about half a tank— into his Ford F-150 pickup. "I'm trying to keep up with it, but it's making it really hard to buy gas. " A gallon of regular gas cost 44 cents more on Monday than a month ago — an average of $3.78 up from $3.34 nationwide, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

As Washington politicians search for budget solutions, imagine if there were a magical revenue source that operated not unlike a national consumption tax that many conservatives prefer and would mitigate global warming to please liberals, all while helping repair America's infrastructure and strengthening our national security, to the delight of almost everyone. Actually, such a tax already exists: It's called the federal gasoline tax, and it's been stuck at 18.4 cents per gallon for two decades.

Letter writer Ron Wirsing seems to have a conveniently short memory when it comes to gas prices ("Obama's policies mean we will soon see $5 gas," Feb. 24). He wants to "go back to 2008 prices. " I remember 2008 gas prices well, as I had a service business at the time. Gas was $4.20 a gallon for regular. This was duringGeorge W. Bush's presidency. When President Bush came into office in 2002, gas was only $1.40 a gallon. So gas tripled in price during the time Mr. Bush was in office.

We were told during the eight years of the previous administration that high gas prices were a result of evil, greedy oil companies and the Bush/Cheney ties to that industry. Now we are told that high gas prices are a result of evil, greedy oil companies and the Republican-led Congress. Now there's change we can believe in. Dave Reich, Perry Hall

More Marylanders will take holiday trips this year, and most will drive — even though gas prices are the highest they have ever been entering the holiday season, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. "Gas prices do not appear to be deterring motorists from hitting the roadways," said Ragina Averella, a spokeswoman for AAA, which released its annual holiday travel predictions Tuesday. Many of the state's nearly 2 million travelers are going without the kids, and without family visits at the top of holiday to-do lists — breaking with traditional patterns in Maryland.

The Maryland legislative pre-session gas tax drumbeats have certainly begun in earnest, as your recent editorial substantiates ("Pump up the economy," Nov. 25). Not much has changed regarding increasing the gas tax from our or our customers' perspective, the motoring public. Gas prices are still extremely high, and our economy is still in struggle mode. Volatility of gas prices still exists and the brief respite at $3.50 a gallon - if you consider $3.50 a bargain - could quickly be erased.