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Oh I agree 100%. We need to bring this price back down.
Price of oil and gas aint coming back down anytime soon even after the war is over. You have all these tankers stuck that cant get across. Once they get across it will take time to transport and refine it. Then you have to wait for the gas station owners to slowly lower the price back down. They will raise the price in a heartbeat, but it will take them weeks if not months to slowly lower it back down at the pump.
The U.S can claim the war is over, but this is a 2 way street. Iran will use every single munition they have in their arsenal down to the last pebble if they have to to inflict maximum economic pain on the whole world. This is why you dont go poking a tiger thinking you will be fine holding a rifle.
i heard some 30 refiners (now down to 8) left california in recent years. california aggressively sought to put them out of business, so they left. so now california imports some of its gasoline from other countries. as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Even if they had the refineries, the results would largely be the same, they would just import the oil instead of the gasoline. There's no pipeline to bring either to the state, so beyond the comparatively small portion of their demand for which oil can be sourced locally, it would still have to be brought in by tanker.
And that's where the Jones Act comes in. It requires any ships that transport goods between two US ports to be US-built, flagged, owned, and crewed. If my memory serves, there are only 55 such bulk carriers in existence, and the majority of them operate within the Great Lakes. For the remainder, it costs a lot more to charter them than any other ships. Like, four times as much. So even if you ignore the insufficient capacity side of the equation, it's actually significantly cheaper to export crude from Texas to the Bahamas, then re-import it from the Bahamas to California, than it is to ship it directly from TX to CA.
And that's where the Jones Act comes in. It requires any ships that transport goods between two US ports to be US-built, flagged, owned, and crewed. If my memory serves, there are only 55 such bulk carriers in existence, and the majority of them operate within the Great Lakes. For the remainder, it costs a lot more to charter them than any other ships. Like, four times as much. So even if you ignore the insufficient capacity side of the equation, it's actually significantly cheaper to export crude from Texas to the Bahamas, then re-import it from the Bahamas to California, than it is to ship it directly from TX to CA.
It's not surprising that it is expensive to sail ships on the Great Lakes....it can be extremely hazardous during storms, and maritime-insurance for them costs a fortune. The loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald was probably the best example, but that have been a number of others as well.
Even if they had the refineries, the results would largely be the same, they would just import the oil instead of the gasoline. There's no pipeline to bring either to the state, so beyond the comparatively small portion of their demand for which oil can be sourced locally, it would still have to be brought in by tanker.
And that's where the Jones Act comes in. It requires any ships that transport goods between two US ports to be US-built, flagged, owned, and crewed. If my memory serves, there are only 55 such bulk carriers in existence, and the majority of them operate within the Great Lakes. For the remainder, it costs a lot more to charter them than any other ships. Like, four times as much. So even if you ignore the insufficient capacity side of the equation, it's actually significantly cheaper to export crude from Texas to the Bahamas, then re-import it from the Bahamas to California, than it is to ship it directly from TX to CA.
Come on. You're letting facts and knowledge get in the way of a bit of good old fashioned California-bashing.
Price of oil and gas aint coming back down anytime soon even after the war is over. You have all these tankers stuck that cant get across. Once they get across it will take time to transport and refine it. Then you have to wait for the gas station owners to slowly lower the price back down. They will raise the price in a heartbeat, but it will take them weeks if not months to slowly lower it back down at the pump.
The U.S can claim the war is over, but this is a 2 way street. Iran will use every single munition they have in their arsenal down to the last pebble if they have to to inflict maximum economic pain on the whole world. This is why you dont go poking a tiger thinking you will be fine holding a rifle.
And that's where the Jones Act comes in. It requires any ships that transport goods between two US ports to be US-built, flagged, owned, and crewed. If my memory serves, there are only 55 such bulk carriers in existence, and the majority of them operate within the Great Lakes.
FYI, if you are not already aware of it, Trump may issue a waiver to the Jones Act.
I drove the Pacifica for work today, my wife is away all week and I've been driving it to take the kids to school and pick them up (when I'm able to get home first) because Wilson likes to ride along:
Drove it to work today because I had to take him to and pick him up from Doggie daycare. Damn weather. 85 yesterday and this was the van when I got to the office:
g:
Damn weather. 85 yesterday and this was the van when I got to the office:
Yep....what happened yesterday and today, with 85-degree heat and severe thunderstorms ahead of the cold front, and snow/freezing weather behind the front, is not that uncommon in the Midwest/Plains states, but very unusual (even rare) here near the East Coast. The nearby mountains and water usually act to modify extreme temperature-contrasts here.
Last edited by mmarshall; Mar 12, 2026 at 06:46 PM.
as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 
