Politics getting in the way of reducing gas prices

Reporter: Gail Levy
Published: Updated:
Gas prices are surging affecting consumers. (CREDIT: WINK News)

Gas prices are surging, jumping almost 60 cents in just one week, and politics are getting in the way of reducing those prices for consumers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted to suspend Florida’s gas tax to give people relief even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Floridians are going to get that gas tax holiday the governor promised, but not anytime soon.

“I think it’s pretty rotten,” said Cape Coral resident Revington Chase.

He drives a classic he rebuilt from the ground up. But cars 60 years old are lucky to get 10 miles to the gallon.

“I don’t know how much I can absorb with the economy and the cost of everyday goods that are being brought by vehicles that rely on fuel, it’s going to get tight. It’s going to get bad,” Chase said.

What happened to DeSantis’ promise?

“What we’re going to be proposing in the next legislative session is over a billion dollars in gas tax relief for Florida families,” DeSantis said last year.

Florida’s gas tax is 26.5 cents on a gallon. To save families $1 billion would take five months. Instead, lawmakers agreed on four weeks.

“The Republican legislature was reluctant to pass the gas tax cut for that long period of time over the summer because many of the benefits wouldn’t go to Florida residents. Instead, they would go to tourists,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at UCF.

Jewett said those tourists won’t be voting in Florida’s race for governor in November.

“I don’t think it’s any coincidence,” Jewett said.

FGCU finance professor Tom Smythe said it’s possible gas prices will keep surging but not for much longer.

“It may take a couple of days, assuming the markets continue to stay stable where they are right now. We would expect to see pump prices decline,” Smythe said.

Smythe predicted gas prices won’t go down as fast as they went up. With so much uncertainty in the world, he believes oil companies will be reluctant to drop prices.

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