It’s understandable for politicians to want energy markets to bend to their will — especially when it comes to gasoline prices. No one likes spending $60, $70 or $80 to fill up their car, SUV or pickup and, well, drivers are voters. The problem is, there’s no simple way to bring down gas prices, and that puts politicians in a quandary. Faced with public outrage, they feel pressured to respond and, with no easy fix at hand, they strain to develop legislative or regulatory “solutions” that in the end may not solve anything. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the various efforts in the U.S. and overseas to monkey with market mechanisms and rein in the cost of motor fuel.
There’s something special about gasoline. Think about it. When you’re pumping gas into your vehicle at the service station, a product you don’t even see is filling your tank and you’re just standing there, with nothing else to do but watch the neon-bright numbers on the pump increase at what seems like the speed of light. As the tank gets close to full, you wait for the nozzle valve to shut itself off and tell you what today’s damages will be, to the penny. Today, it’s $72.41. Ouch!
Over the past two years, the retail price of regular-grade gasoline (weekly national average; blue line in Figure 1) has increased from $2.12/gal to $3.74/gal — a gain of 76% — and at one point in early June this year that average price topped $5. Midgrade, in turn, went as high as $5.45/gal (yellow line) and premium peaked at $5.76 (green line). And don’t get us started about California, where retail prices for each grade soared past $6/gal five months ago (colored triangles).
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About the song
“Taxman” was written by George Harrison and appears as the opening song on side one of The Beatles’ seventh studio album, Revolver. It was recorded between April and June 1966 at EMI Studios in London, with George Martin producing. Harrison wrote the song about the tax problems The Beatles were having in Great Britain. The song name-checks Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the then leader of the Conservative Party, Edward Heath. Ironically, Wilson had nominated The Beatles as Members of the British Empire (MBE). In the song, Paul McCartney plays the Indian raga-flavored guitar solos on his Epiphone Casino electric guitar. In 1981, “Weird Al” Yankovic parodied “Taxman” with his song, “Pac-Man.” Personnel on The Beatles’ record were: George Harrison (lead vocals, electric guitar), John Lennon (backing vocals, electric guitar), Paul McCartney (backing vocals, bass, electric guitar solos), and Ringo Starr (drums, cowbell, tambourine).
Revolver was recorded between April and June 1966 at EMI Studios in London, with George Martin producing. Released in August 1966, the album went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 5x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was groundbreaking in its use of experimentation in the studio. A double A-sided single of “Eleanor Rigby” backed with “Yellow Submarine” was released from the LP. The sessions from Revolver also produced the non-LP singles “Paperback Writer” and “Rain.” A new stereo re-mix of Revolver by George Martin's son Gavin, along with Sam Okell, was released in October 2022.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, they became the most popular rock band in history. They released 17 studio albums, six live albums, 54 compilation albums, 36 EPs and 63 singles and have sold more than 600 million records worldwide. The Beatles are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a group and individually. They have won one Academy Award, seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. The band officially broke up in 1970. John Lennon was murdered in December 1980. George Harrison died in November 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr continue to record and tour as solo artists.
