Holy smokes, this is getting insane,

[Mach1E]

You joke, but a new bill will force fast food chains to pay their workers a minimum of $20/hour. That works out to about 45K per year. So a couple in California starting at McDonalds would earn 90K a year. And would still qualify for all states benefits.

But still couldn’t afford to buy a house or fill up their cars.

It’s all relative.

That said, fast food companies here (Florida) can’t find workers either. Our local Taco Bell has had a sign up on their marquee for over a year “$18/hr starting pay plus $500 bonus.”

When the fast food workers lost their jobs in 2020, they got different jobs and didn’t come back. We didn’t need a state law to increase the wages.

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[ridgebackpilot]

Gasoline prices in California are higher for one main reason: The market can and will bear it.

Sure it’s more expensive to live here. That’s because it’s a great place to live! While the rest of the country is fighting snow and ice, we’re going to the beach and bathing In sunshine most of the winter! (And charging our EVs with all that solar energy).

Some how I doubt most Californians would be willing to move to North Dakota or Maine just because the gas prices are lower…! YMMV

 

[Mach1E]

Gasoline prices in California are higher for one main reason: The market can and will bear it.

Sure it’s more expensive to live here. That’s because it’s a great place to live! While the rest of the country is fighting snow and ice, we’re bathing In sunshine most of the winter! (And charging our EVs with all that solar energy).

Some how I doubt most Californians would be willing to move to North Dakota or Maine just because the gas prices are lower…! YMMV

Florida says “hold my beer.”

 

[Ghost Ryder]

But still couldn’t afford to buy a house or fill up their cars.

It’s all relative.

That said, fast food companies here (Florida) can’t find workers either. Our local Taco Bell has had a sign up on their marquee for over a year “$18/hr starting pay plus $500 bonus.”

When the fast food workers lost their jobs in 2020, they got different jobs and didn’t come back. We didn’t need a state law to increase the wages.

yeah, Everyone is feeling it. Inflation feels a lot higher than the official report.

 

[Mach1E]

yeah, Everyone is feeling it. Inflation feels a lot higher than the official report.

Feels higher because it is in some of the most visible categories (food, housing, fuel).

It’s also additive. 3% inflation vs 9% a year ago doesn’t mean prices went down.

It means they’re UP over 12% from 2 years ago.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

Gasoline prices in California are higher for one main reason: The market can and will bear it.

Sure it’s more expensive to live here. That’s because it’s a great place to live! While the rest of the country is fighting snow and ice, we’re bathing In sunshine most of the winter! (And charging our EVs with all that solar energy).

Some how I doubt most Californians would be willing to move to North Dakota or Maine just because the gas prices are lower…! YMMV

California is at a tipping point, and it's not just the cost, but also all the policies that the supermajority state legislators are pushing. High wage earners/businesses and those those that can are leaving California in droves. California will soon experience a rapid decline. Love the beaches and weather, but it's hard to enjoy the sand and weather when you're dodging human waste and needles while walking on the sidewalk.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

California is at a tipping point, and it's not just the cost, but also all the policies that the supermajority state legislators are pushing. High wage earners/businesses and those those that can are leaving California in droves. California will soon experience a rapid decline. Love the beaches and weather, but it's hard to enjoy the sand and weather when you're dodging human waste and needles while walking on the sidewalk.

Gotta love these dystopian exaggerations! People are leaving in droves; California is falling into the sea, etc…etc… ??

Sure, a few beaches in Southern California suffer from occasional pollution events. But the rest of our 840 mile coastline is relatively pristine and well-protected. At least we have no high-rise hotels and apartments on the coast like Florida, thanks to the California Coastal Commission.

With 40 million people in the state, it’s stands to treason regulation and taxes are higher to preserve the quality of life here. If folks want to move out just because of that, it will simply make the situation better for the rest of us who love it here!

 

[SWO]

I’m surprised it’s not more.

The cost of land and labor on the left coast are super high. Avg income way higher.

If anything, things that cost the same across the country (like cars) are cheap out there. Not sure how dealerships have a profit margin selling cars at the same price as Kansas.

Yep. High cost of living but high household income to match.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

Gotta love these dystopian exaggerations! People are leaving in droves; California is falling into the sea, etc…etc… ??

Sure, a few beaches in Southern California suffer from occasional pollution events. But the rest of our 840 mile coastline is relatively pristine and well-protected. At least we have no high-rise hotels and apartments on the coast like Florida, thanks to the California Coastal Commission.

With 40 million people in the state, it’s stands to treason regulation and taxes are higher to preserve the quality of life here. If folks want to move out just because of that, it will simply make the situation better for the rest of us who love it here!

You can keep your head in the sand, but the population loss is real. We already loss a seat congress because of the exodus.

But not only are people leaving, it's the high wage earners and businesses that are leaving.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/l...away/509-81f48f7d-9e67-46f9-b999-ad7b60c213dd

California lost $343,000,000 in tax revenue due to migration last year. That money is not coming back.

California has a very progressive tax structure. The top 1% pays for almost 50% of all income taxes. So when a company like HP or Tesla leaves and take their high income earners with them, the state can't really replace that loss easily.

 

[SWO]

Seems like living there is like being in an expensive giant gated community with a very restrictive HOA.

If you like all the rules, you appreciate that everyone’s mailbox is the same height and color.

But if you’re the one who hasn’t mowed their grass in two weeks……

I like the analogy but at least a HOA generally applies the rules evenly. In CA someone will set up their illegal/unlicensed hotdog stand with impunity while the B&M sandwich shop down the street gets a fine/shut down because their counter is an inch too high. Cops ignore the clapped out RV parked illegally for the last 2 weeks cooking meth while the soccer mom across the street gets a ticket for not coming to a complete stop. Folks pay $6 for gas while the landscaper across the street operates a 2-cycle mixed gas backpack blower.

 

[bruceski88]

As @mdolan92869 said, part of it is because of the unicorns for sure. But here's some more info. In 1980 there were 43 refineries making California's special blend of gas. Now there's only 14. Most of the refineries have switched to BioDiesel because California is paying them close to $350M each to transition from crude oil. Supply has shrunk and demand remains relatively the same or even more than 1980 when the state had 16 million fewer people in it. While EV adoption is on the rise it hasn't outpaced the number of new residents, most of whom are lower income. Those people can't afford EVs so they buy gas vehicles. In 2012, the EPA removed the necessity for vapor recovery from fuel citing that it was unnecessary, California still imposes it which is just more added cost to fuel suppliers. Reality is that it's only going to get worse. As the state imposes more regulation on refineries, bribes them to switch to bio fuels and enacts legislation to ban all ICE vehicles, prices will only continue to rise.

Furthermore, when a refinery goes off line there's only a few other places that make the California blend. Those are in South Korea and New Brunswick, Canada. No other state produces California blend gas. Therefore, it has to be brought in by ship, which is obviously very expensive. It's California politics at it's finest.

I live 20 miles from Nevada. Gas in Reno is the same price as the bay area. This supports the gas island hypothesis. Nevada has none of the rules or taxes of CA, but still has the same price.

 

[Say Watt]

I live 20 miles from Nevada. Gas in Reno is the same price as the bay area. This supports the gas island hypothesis. Nevada has none of the rules or taxes of CA, but still has the same price.

Nevada gets its gasoline from California...

https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.... refined petroleum,the San Francisco Bay area.

 

[DevSecOps]

I live 20 miles from Nevada. Gas in Reno is the same price as the bay area. This supports the gas island hypothesis. Nevada has none of the rules or taxes of CA, but still has the same price.

The gas island is a fact, I'm not disputing that. I just didn't mention it, someone else did. It's not the only factor. Everything I cited is factually true. The gas island is also factually true. Reno gas prices are high because of California regulations and because they have the 5th largest gas tax. Per the Western energy alliance, "The market in Nevada is exposed to those same expensive gasoline mixes and pays similar refining prices."

Nevada is bearing the brunt of California policies.

 

[All Hat No Cattle]

Well, I've never understood why people continue to pay exorbitant gas prices when there is an easy and profitable alternative.

If the people in Huntington Beach would just get a local Costco membership for $60 a year, they could purchase all the Top Tier gas they want for the price below. How many gallons of $1.30 a gallon saving would you need to buy to get your membership fee back? And you could shop at Costco.

Today's prices.

 

[Johnny B]

The day after Labor Day we were passing through California and the price of Regular at stations in Needles, CA was over $7 per gallon. Stations in Arizona, an 8 mile drive over the Colorado River, were selling it for around for about $4.50 per gallon.

Arizona also uses the special California environmental blend and is even more of a fuel island. There are no refineries in Arizona and all fuel is piped in.

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