SC "Pump Pain" Eases

After a sudden spike toward the end of February, gas prices in South Carolina have leveled off a bit in March.

According to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Palmetto State is $3.47 – a thirteen-cent decrease from last month’s peak. That’s the fifth-lowest average price in the nation – although as we’ve noted in numerous previous posts that ranking is skewed.

How so? Well, because South Carolinians are dirt poor they pay a disproportionately higher percentage of their income on fuel costs – second only to Mississippi, in fact.

So yeah … cheap gas isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

Nonetheless, “Republicans” in the S.C. General Assembly want to impose a massive 30 percent increase in the state’s gas tax – and then lock in annual tax hikes moving forward.

Naturally we are adamantly opposed to such an increase …

In fact, one way to reduce the price of a gallon of gas would be if the federal government ended its subsidization of the ethanol fuel industry – which adds an extra dime per gallon to motorists’ costs. Of course “Republicans” in Washington, D.C. are slaves to the ethanol lobby every bit as much as Democrats … which means it’s highly unlikely we’re going to see relief on that front.