Every day, it seems, brings more news articles focused on the impact that the rising price of crude oil and petroleum-based-products is having on our daily lives. From this past week:
- Continental Airlines said it will reduce service between Yeager Airport in Charleston and its hub in Cleveland. Southern Skyways said it will cut a Sunday flight from Yeager to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Both airlines blamed fuel costs for the cutbacks.
- An article in USA Today said that fewer roads will be repaved this summer because of the soaring prices of oil-based asphalt. Some states, cities and counties say their road-repair budgets didn't anticipate asphalt prices that are up 25.9 percent from a year ago, so they're being forced to delay projects.
- In other news reports, West Virginia highway officials said money for repaving will not go as far this year as last because of increasing asphalt prices. Along with that, people are buying less gasoline, meaning less tax money is being collected for highway maintenance.
- Ford Motor Co. officials say high gasoline prices are sending consumers away from trucks and sport utility vehicles toward more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers. The shift will force Ford to cut production and retool some factories to make smaller vehicles. The company also says there will be further job cuts, according to The Associated Press. Ford announced in May that it will not reach its goal of returning to profitability in 2009. As the transportation industry adjusts, that could affect local companies that supply the major automakers.
The way things are going, energy prices could become a dominant issue in the general election at both the national and state levels. Nationally, people will want candidates to explain what they can do to alleviate the increasing price of gasoline. Many will recognize that it's not just gasoline. The cost of diesel fuel is partly responsible for higher grocery prices this year.
On the state level, voters will want to know if there will be any relief from state taxes on gasoline. As it stands now, the taxes on gasoline are greater than the retailer's profit from selling the gasoline.
West Virginia currently charges 32.2 cents per gallon tax on gasoline. Part of that is a flat rate of 20.5 cents per gallon, while the rest is based on 5 percent of the wholesale price from July 1 to Oct. 31, which happens to be the time of year of some of our highest retail prices. Right now, that tax is 11.7 cents. Two years ago, Gov. Joe Manchin suspended a scheduled increase in the tax because of high prices, but he has not done so since, and there is no indication he will do so again.
If the variable tax rate is not altered, people could see higher prices at the pump next year because the tax is sure to go up.
Candidates had better study up on energy prices and what government can and cannot do. And voters need to educate themselves, too, so they will not be deceived by candidates who promise what they cannot deliver.