Fed Up At the Pump Statement on PPIC Poll
25 July 2014 - 7:57AM
Business Wire
Findings reveal Californians oppose government
created higher gas prices
Today, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released
a poll supporting Fed Up at the Pump’s call for the Governor to
delay the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) January hidden gas
tax. “California’s Statewide Survey: Californians and the
Environment” found while most Californians support cleaner
transportation fuels, that support declines significantly when it
leads to higher gas prices.
CARB is implementing a gas price hike in January as a result of
Fuels Under the Cap. This new provision of the cap-and-trade
regulatory program will, for the first time, apply to
transportation fuels.
Statement from Fed Up at the Pump Member Ryan Jacobsen,
Executive Director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau
“While the hidden gas tax is going to affect everybody in
California, it’s going to hit Central Valley farmers and ranchers
especially hard. California’s economy may have improved in other
parts of the state, but the San Joaquin Valley is struggling
because of the drought. This region is the driver of California’s
agricultural industry and employs hundreds of thousands of
employees both on farms and within the value chain of our products.
The findings of this survey show that Californians outside of the
Central Valley care about how this unfair gas tax will hurt our
economy, our farmers and our working-class. I urge Governor Brown
and CARB to listen to Californians and find another way to fight
climate change without hurting farmers, agriculture employees and
businesses already reeling from the drought and recession.”
Statement from Fed Up at the Pump Member Jay McKeeman, CIOMA
“The findings of this survey regarding how Californians feel
about our state’s carbon emissions law confirm what we already
know. There is large support for the notion that we must reduce our
carbon emissions, a goal that is also supported by the Fed Up at
the Pump Coalition. But that support plummets when Californians
find out that to achieve those goals they will be paying 16 to 76
cents more for a gallon of gas starting next year, because of a tax
that was created by a state agency with no public notice or
legislative review. Many have to drive long distances to drop their
kids off at school, get to work, or buy groceries for their
families. There must be a better way to bring transportation fuels
under the cap and trade system. Let’s delay the January 1, 2015
start date and re-evaluate it in an open and transparent forum. We
must be sensitive to our fellow Californians, many who are the
working poor, or middle-class and still struggling to get by.
Springing an unpredictable gas tax on consumers, especially in a
volatile carbon market, is wrong and unfair. It’s time to find
another way.”
Statement from Fed Up at the Pump Member Chaplain Loron
Hodge
“Poor and low-income residents in Kern County are barely able to
afford food and clothing, let alone pay more for gas. We’ve already
seen people unable to afford to buy the gas they need to drive to
our food bank and pick up the food and clothing we are giving away
for free. This poll reflects the response from so many Californians
just struggling to pay for the cost of living in our state, feeding
their families and taking their kids to school. An increase in gas
prices causes the most problems for people who have no money to
begin with. Is it really a good idea to hurt the poor in the name
of climate change?”
About Fed Up at the Pump
Fed Up at the Pump is a grassroots coalition of consumers,
businesses, and advocates who are concerned about the negative
impacts that a hidden, unfair gas tax will have on California. The
coalition’s goal is to halt a state-mandated gas tax – created by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) “Fuels Under the Cap”
regulations – before it goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015. This gas
tax will disproportionately affect lower-income Californians and
there is no guarantee money generated will go to programs that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The coalition is spearheaded by
members of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association
(CIOMA), a group of independent fuel conveyers in California. CIOMA
members provide a strong backbone to the state’s economy but are
often blamed for oil industry gas price hikes. The coalition aims
to educate consumers about the source of the gas price increase
they will experience in January, 2015, a campaign CIOMA believes
that CARB should be conducting so Californians can plan for the
upcoming gas tax, especially low income workers in the Central
Valley.
More information can be found at www.fedupatthepump.org
Perry Communications GroupJulia Spiess Lewis,
916-658-0144julia@perrycom.com