A California political contender says politicians are blaming gas companies for high gas prices instead of examining the regulations they've passed that are also to blame.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) is calling for a federal probe into the record high gas prices in The Golden State, asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether they are related to supply and demand, or if fraud is to blame. Feinstein insists that the FTC ought to set up an oversight group to monitor the oil and gas market.
But Martha Flores-Gibson, a Republican candidate for the California Assembly, points to another aspect.
"There's reckless spending on one end, and there could be some possible greed; however, not enough to cause an investigation," she notes, "because when you cause an investigation, it puts more people at risk to lose jobs."
Consumers in California are paying an average of $4.70 for a gallon of regular gasoline, and in some areas, it costs $5 to $6. Flores-Gibson asserts that the politicians are trying to put the blame on companies, when it actually lies within the regulations they themselves put into place.
"All the solutions that they have [are] like, Well, how can we regulate them more? How can we put more fees on them? How can we tax them more?," the Republican states. "So, it's a conversation that is at a gridlock, instead of working with them and saying, Okay -- what can we do as a federal agency?"
Feinstein maintains that "market fundamentals are not to blame" for the high gas prices in California, even in light of refinery troubles.