Consumers feel gouged on gas: poll - U.S. drivers cry foul and support
oil-company tax
http://tinyurl.com/8m6pp
Consumers feel gouged on gas: poll
U.S. drivers cry foul and support oil-company tax
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A majority of Americans
are convinced they're being gouged at the gas pump,
and many support a tax on oil companies' profits to
fund research into alternative energy sources, according
to a new survey.
Eighty-seven percent of U.S. consumers said oil companies
are gouging them on gas prices, according to the telephone
survey of 1,019 adults in mid-September by Opinion Research
Corp. for the Civil Society Institute, a Newton Centre,
Mass.-based non-profit advocacy group.
The Institute, funded by donations and foundation grants,
supports a variety of initiatives, including 40mpg.org,
which aims to make 40 miles per gallon the standard for
all U.S. cars.
Another 7% said very little price gouging is going
on, 4% said it's not happening at all, and 3% weren't
sure. The survey has a margin of error of plus, or minus,
3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
The belief in price gouging was consistent across party
lines, with 82% of Republicans pointing to "some" or
"a great deal" of price gouging, 91% of Democrats doing
so, and 87% of independents.
Many consumers appear ready to gouge right back: 79% of
those surveyed said they support a tax on oil company's
profits if the money collected goes to research on
alternative energy sources.
That sentiment crossed political lines to a large extent,
with 83% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans and 81% of
independents supporting such a tax to fuel research on
alternative energy sources.
But there was less overall support for such a tax to fund
other initiatives: Just 53% of the respondents support
a tax on oil company profits to fund a direct rebate to
U.S. drivers, while 70% support the tax to fund wetlands
restoration in the Gulf Coast to lessen damage from future
hurricanes. (The survey offered only those three possible
purposes for the hypothetical tax revenues.)
Confluence of factors
Consumers' cry of price gouging, and apparent willingness
to embrace alternative energy sources appears sparked by
a confluence of factors, said Pam Solo, president and
founder of the Civil Society Institute, in a telephone
press conference.
"There are several strains of concern converging for people,"
she said, including steeply higher gas prices, the U.S.'s
reliance on foreign oil, and global warming.
"Americans have seen ... too little action from Washington
on energy prices, fuel-efficient vehicles and the dangers
of too much reliance on foreign oil," Solo said.
And oil company profits aren't helping consumers feel warm
and fuzzy, she said. "We all know somebody is getting quite
wealthy over the dilemmas and troubles we're facing as a
country," she said. "We should be able to share in those profits
as a society to have greater control of our destiny as a country."
Meanwhile, 81% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that
the federal government isn't doing enough about high energy prices
and U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern energy sources.
Broken down across political parties: 74% of Republicans agreed
the federal government isn't doing enough, as did 90% of Democrats
and 83% of independents.
Let's go hybrid
When asked whether domestic car makers should follow Toyota's lead
by including hybrid technology in all new cars going forward, 80%
of consumers agreed, according to the survey.
Eighty-six percent of Democrats agreed domestic makers should focus
on hybrid technology, as did 73% of Republicans, and 80% of Independents.
The visible success of hybrid cars may be leading more consumers
to see alternative technologies as one part of a solution to the
problem of high gas prices, Solo and her colleagues at the Institute said.
Support for hybrid technology was strongest in the West, with 87%
of consumers saying car makers should pursue all-hybrid fleets,
compared with 82% in the Northeast, 79% in the Midwest, and 77%
in the South.
Some consumers also support the idea of higher fuel-efficiency
standards for regular cars, with 48% of those surveyed saying
recent gas price hikes make it "much more important" that the
federal government take steps to require higher fuel-efficiency
standards.
Twenty-four percent said gas costs make it "somewhat more
important" that the government address fuel-efficiency
standards, but 19% said higher gas prices should have no
effect on the government's approach to fuel efficiency
standards, according to the survey.
Andrea Coombes is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
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