SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When gas prices rise, it instantly fuels political rhetoric about price gouging and the need to help motorists pay at the pump. It's as automatic as pushing the starter button and hearing the engine crank up.
As California prices surged in recent days, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed that he wanted to retaliate against oil moguls by imposing a windfall profits tax and returning the money to drivers.
"Crude oil prices are down. Oil industry profits are up. Yet gas prices in CA have increased by record amounts. It doesn't add up," the governor tweeted.
