A recent Public Policy Institute of California survey brings the state’s affordability crisis into stark focus.
Among California adults, the nonpartisan research group found:
- Three in ten have cut back on food to save money.
- About a quarter worry every day or almost every day about housing costs – a figure that jumps to 40% among renters.
- One in five have put off medical care because they couldn’t afford it.
Yet despite this stunning backdrop of economic anxiety, some in Sacramento continue pushing energy policies that drive prices higher.
As a new ad from Californians for Energy Independence argues:
“[S]hutting down local oil production, pushing refineries out, and increasing dependence on costly foreign fuel only makes it harder to keep lights on, tanks full, and food on the table.”
Last year, with policies resulting in plummeting oil production and the planned closure of two major refineries, state leaders scrambled to address a growing fuel supply crisis that UC Berkeley energy expert Severin Borenstein warned could raise gas prices “many dollars per gallon.”
In an effort to stabilize the state’s pipeline and refinery infrastructure, the legislature passed SB 237 aiming to boost oil production in Kern County. But activist groups opposed the measure, apparently preferring instead to let gas prices spike amid tight supplies and shortages.
A Center for Biological Diversity representative called the bill “senseless and horrifying” saying it consisted of “giveaways to Big Oil.” Other groups piled on, writing in a letter to Governor Newsom and state legislators: “Under the guise of ‘affordability’ and ‘abundance,’ you enacted the most regressive policies in generations.”
Meanwhile, proposals like ‘Polluters Pay’ – which would require oil companies to pay for damages related to extreme weather events – continue to garner attention in Sacramento. Supporters say Polluters Pay would “redirect the financial burden” of disasters away from consumers, but that’s fallacy.
After all, California is still overwhelmingly powered by oil and gas, and will continue to be for decades. Forcing the state’s oil companies to cover damages from extreme weather will increase their costs – and, in turn, push fuel prices higher. So much for redirecting.
Californians are struggling. Working families need policymakers to deliver a more affordable cost of living – not costly anti-oil showmanship.
Or as the CEI ad puts it:
“Wake up Sacramento – it’s time to put working families first.”
