It cost more than $100 to fill up my mom’s car: Roadshow

Q: I contend that gas prices are high because greedy oil companies took a bath during the worst of COVID when almost nobody was driving and now they’re trying to make up that money. They certainly want to make money (who doesn’t?), but they also don’t want to lose any, so they will stick it to us.

Mary Linduska

A: Here we go again, as prices hover painfully close to $5 a gallon.

Q: Let’s get one thing straight about gas prices. They are a direct result of the Joe Biden administration. Biden, who apparently gets a pass for everything wrong, spent his first few months in office undoing anything that Trump had accomplished. That included the petroleum industry that was on a roll via Trump’s regulation altercations.

We are all paying for “Green New Deal” garbage that has pump prices skyrocketing. This is all about “excuse master” Democrats and their misguided blaming of what they say altered the climate.

Michael Ross, Santa Clara

A: Garbage? Misguided? Come on. Auto exhaust is one of the leading contributors to climate change. Extreme weather events, including wildfires, are becoming more frequent and more dangerous.

Q: While filling my 97-year-old mother’s car, we were in sticker shock, as the bill was way over $100! Awful for an elderly person on a fixed income.

Lynne Meyer

A: But …

Q: Thanks for the multiple columns on gas prices and debunking the political talking points.

One thing that wasn’t mentioned is that oil is a worldwide market. So the U.S. really has little control over the price, and our presidents have virtually no control. Even if U.S. oil companies decide to pump more, that oil will go where buyers pay the highest prices, which means prices here will still follow the world market.

Eric Novikoff

A: And …

Q: I bet that your inbox is overflowing with complaints about $5 a gallon in California.

Donna Peters, Oakland

A: It is, but interestingly, states with the highest average gas prices, such as California and Nevada, are near the middle of the pack in terms of complaints, according to a group that tracks this sort of thing.

People complaining the most about gas prices are in:

1. Arizona
2. Wyoming
3. Montana
4. New Hampshire
5. Idaho
6. North Dakota
7. Vermont
8. Nebraska
9. New Mexico
10. Connecticut

Q: You probably should try to stay out of political fights. It’s pretty much a no-win situation, so good luck on that.

Alan Arndt

A: Good advice. My focus is on the fact that presidents of both parties get too much blame when gas prices skyrocket and too much credit when they fall.