Mr. Sommer gives an explanation of the “cost of gas” that needs some explaining by way of Henry George!

What Would Henry George Say?

According to Digging into Crude Oil, Gasoline and Natural Gas Prices 3.0 (https://gaspricesexplained.com/#/?section=whatconsumers-are-paying-for-at-the-pump) the price of gas is based on:

• 12% refining
• 18% transportation
• 17% excise taxes
• 53% cost of crude oil

However, oil companies only pay 5% of price in oil leases.

This means about 50% of price of gas is economic rent.  It’s speculative gain masquerading as a burden!  In reality, it’s a supernormal profit. How in the world can a product sitting in a below ground tank, produced weeks earlier, go up in price before it’s sold?

Following Henry George’s philosophy of taxing away economic rent, a wiser solution would be that the U.S. government impose a 50% resource rent (on each barrel of oil) on oil companies thus generating $300 billion or more!

Yet, most Americans fall for the “magic of the market.”