Gas Taxes and How to Get More for the Dollar

I left ProgressiveU in March due to a disagreement over the handling of certain issues beyond my control (and it had nothing to do with my maturity level). Since then, I've been really bored. You have no idea what it's like to have nothing to do on the internet (seeing as you're reading this post). I have, however, never quit reading blogs posted on ProU. I have refrained from commenting, but that's only because I was taking a break. I was, in effect, allowing myself to disappear. Now I can think of probably 45 users that will all at once go, "Holy fucking shit! That's Nick!" Well, duh. But before I actually write this blog, I want people to add me not because I'm Nick. Well, that would be part of the reason you add me, but I want it to be more because you've got a want to hear what I'm thinking. And since I think so much during my spare time, I'm sure we'll find that I've got a lot of thoughts. Plus, I'm eligible for the Fall Scholarship. It'll be mine!

Now, as to my return (because I told you all that to tell you all this): I was chatting with BurningExample and surfing ProU when I found this blog: Bad Gas by YourCongressman. Sure, it was posted on May 14th, but that wasn't why I came back. I came back to ProU for one reason. YourCongressman was wrong. And by wrong, I mean that nothing in the following paragraph was even a little correct.

"The Gas Tax Holiday: This is a horrible idea. It's a good immediate solution, i guess, but over all very bad. The gas tax isn't that high and the government needs that $30/month revenue. It won't help the average person in the United States who has a car at all. Some taxes are necessary, not income. The whole tax system needs to be changed. A consumption based tax would be a great thing, such as the Fair Tax,, but that's another post. This tax elimination is just stupid pandering to demographics." -- YourCongressman

To begin with, I will address his one correct point. The Federal Gas Tax (FGT so I don't have to type it out) isn't that high. The FGT is 18.4 cpg (cents per gallon). This is a flat rate that is adjusted every year if I am not mistaken (point out a source if I'm wrong). (SOURCE)

Since I live in Kentucky and that's the only state that even matters to me, I will deal with the gas tax in just Kentucky. The Gas Tax for Kentucky (combined state and federal) is 40.9 cpg. That means that when I'm paying $3.999 at the pump, I'm getting $3.50 worth of gas and giving $0.50 to the Government. (SOURCE On a side note, this is a good map. It's current, so if you wonder about your state, it's there.)

So, while not something that's "raping" our wallets at the pump, the gas tax is noticeable when you're buying 10 gallons of gas at a time like most drivers. You shell out $40 for gas when you could spend $35. While this isn't a great amount, it's still a problem.

The shear price of gas is just too high. So I offer you a solution or two that, if put into action, could actually lower gas prices by as much as $0.50/gallon.

1) You know the plastic bags you get at the grocery? Each one is made of a petrol based plastic. Plastics do not biodegrade and nothing on the planet (biologically) will even grow on them. Al Gore (God, damn his soul) actually attempted to save you a couple of bucks in his whole "Go Green" movement. If all of the US were to stop using petrol based plastics gas prices would DROP between 25¢ and 50¢.

Moving from plastic to paper (or even cloth like I use) sacks at the store would be a start. But even things like single-serve potatoes that are wrapped in plastic are part of the problem. The over-packaging of things in petrol based plastics leads to a hike in the cost of gas.

2) Shop for gas during the early morning or late afternoon on Tues-Thursday. Gas is almost always cheapest on Wednesdays. Don't believe me? Just look around over the next week at your favorite service station.

As with all matter, Gas expands when heated. Gas is standardized at 60°F for one gallon. During the early morning you're going to get more "Gas" than during the early afternoon. This is because there are more Gas molecules per volume in cooler Gas.

(You can even test this one with a balloon. Take a balloon and blow it up. Tie off the end and assume the gas that simply escapes the balloon to be negligible overnight. Blow up the balloon outside where it's warm, too. Then put the balloon in the freezer overnight. When you look in the morning, the balloon should be anywhere from 2-3 inches smaller in diameter.)

For more information on almost anything you want to know about Gasoline, check out this site. It is run by the devils that rape our wallets each time we fuel up. It has a lot of good information on fuel and a number of other things. For more information concerning the average price of gas in a given state (and in some states, in a given city), AAA offers the Fuel Gauge Report which is updated each business day.

And if either of those solutions can't help you to get a little more out of your gas, there's always ANWR drilling...