Gas Gouging 

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Utah, with its amazing geological features and unique landscapes, is unlike any other place.

Once an obscure high-desert region of the expansive Mexican Territory, it has made a dramatic transformation—from a backwater, second-class, relatively-poor state, to a center of medical research, technology, tourism, education and commerce.

When I moved here, back in 1960, Utah was just a little over 1 million in population, dominated by the homogeneity of wall-to-wall Mormons. Because the state's only permanent attraction was "the church," economic opportunity was dismal. An influx of people—attracted only by the fact that the state was the center of their religion and believing that the duty of all Mormons was to have as many children as the Lord would bless them with—led to vigorous population growth.

Sadly, the burgeoning population was without the benefit of available jobs and economic opportunity. There were simply too many people coming to Utah, almost entirely here because of their faith, competing for a finite supply of jobs and money. Back then, a significant portion of Utahns merely scraped by.

That's changed dramatically.

Over these past 62 years, I've seen Utah's remarkable transformation: the population has tripled; we're a part of the vast interstate highway system—very unlike the two-lane road that used to wind its way to the summit of Parley's Canyon; residents can find jobs rather than the unfortunate trend of the past, in which the scarcity of money was largely responsible for making Utah the "fraud capital" of America; the FrontRunner train now provides 89 miles of public transportation, connecting virtually all of the Wasatch Front from Pleasant View, north of Ogden, to Provo; out-of-staters, tired of fighting the problems of overpopulated coastal cities, have come to view Utah as a promising go-to alternative.

But, despite the growth and progress, Utah is still a place of thousands of miles of lonely roads and seemingly endless expanses of boring sagebrush and yellowed summer grasses, punctuated by an occasional visual treat that will launch sightseers and travelers into ecstasy.

Public transportation, while greatly improved, is no panacea for the inconveniences of general travel. Utahns, in order to thrive and survive, are still bound to the convenience of automobiles, which account for most of the miles traveled in our state.

As of 2021, it was reported that Utah's passenger vehicles burn about 1.424 billion gallons of gasoline per year. That's 474 gallons per year for each of its citizens, and a whopping 3.9 million gallons per day.

For most, there are no other options. One must buy the gasoline in order to work and function in our state. This raises another question.

Why have Utahns been paying so much more for gasoline than their friends in other states? Of course, the official versions are that we don't have the same kinds of oil infrastructure that other states enjoy, that our gasoline road taxes are much higher than most states (31 cents per gallon), and that there are many other factors affecting the price of a gallon of gas.

But, if we look at Utah's gas tax, it's really nothing extraordinary. In fact, our state gas tax sits right in the middle of the pack when compared with the forty-nine other states. Wholesale oil prices, while they do vary, are also mostly in line with other parts of the country. So what does it all mean?

The endless excuses for Utah's high gas prices are merely dismissive cop-outs for the facts. Utah, consistently among the five most expensive states for passenger car fuel—and destined to stay there in an era when no antitrust laws are being enforced—is now one of the gas-price-gouging capitals of our nation.

It seems that, once again, Utah has acquired one more dubious, superlative honor. Our gasoline wholesalers and retailers are simply some of the most greedy.

Of course, this couldn't happen if big business was deprived of the current free-for-all—unlimited campaign donations to political candidates at any level of government, without a requirement for transparent disclosure of to whom the funds are being given. This is fallout from the "Citizens United" U.S. Supreme Court decision that defined corporations to be "people" and allowed a system of legal bribery that now dominates our country's elections.

Special interests own the politicians, and politicians are largely responsible for our fate. Each time we fill up with gasoline, we need to remember where our politicians are getting their money, and to keep in mind that election and reelection are their only concerns—all at the expense of their constituents.

It is a shameful circumstance. Frankly, if we had a governor who was on the side of the public, Utah would be making moves to enforce its antitrust and fair competition laws—to deny the gasoline suppliers their obscene profits and save Utah families the excessive amounts they're now paying for something that is a must, not a maybe. It's certainly worth considering if the necessity of gasoline falls under the definition of public utilities—as a commodity used by everyone and which no one can go without.

We elected Gov. Spencer Cox to look out for the interests of Utahns, but one must ask what special interests he's cozied-up with under the covers. Call Gov. Cox and tell him to enforce the laws that could give Utah's gas-price-hammered population a little relief. That's one of those things we hired him to do.

The author is a retired novelist, columnist, and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and the beloved ashes of their mongrel dog.