In today's Star-Bulletin, a Democrat proposal
because of the feeling that gas prices might be
lower without the cap... This is seems to be a hot
issue in the outer islands-- at least one that
Democrat Joe Souki from Maui can use to rally that
crowd.
http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/25/news/story01.html
However, Ron Menor responds with his own proposals
for lowering prices by revising the cap:
"One key change would add Singapore to the three
mainland markets used for setting the baseline. To
avoid factoring in price spikes from a single
market, the highest average of the four markets
would be discarded each week in determining the
baseline.
"Other changes include eliminating a
6.5-cent-per-gallon fixed charge added to the
wholesale price of gas on Oahu and replacing the 4
percent general excise tax with a fixed tax of 8
cents per gallon."
I guess Singapore is closer to the Indonesian oil
that we use in Hawaii. It's prices would not peak
with mainland markets, so the highest mainland price
wont skew our wholesale cap price. And keeping the
GET on gasoline fixed at 8 cents, is equivalent of
the GET at a ratail gas price of $2 a gallon. Also
IIRC I've heard it say that a reduction of 6.5 cents
on the wholesale price is even greater at the
retailer because the retailer tends to use a
percentage markup. So a cost savings of 7 or 8 cents
at the retailer??
Wonder what critics would say if we eliminated the
price cap, and prices here increased.
