A Collective Groan

California Prop 87

A collective goan echos across the bay area this evening. The anti-prop 87 ad just aired. This is pretty frustrating. The ad shows a concerned-looking white woman filling the tank of her car (SUV). She tells us that 87 raises the tax on oil drilling. She raises her eyebrows, then suggests that such a hike would kick your wallet straight in the coin purse. Quick snip from the Yes on 87 website (emphasis added):

California deserves its fair share. Currently, oil companies pay California almost nothing to drill, while they pay billions of dollars in drilling fees to every other oil producing state. Prop 87 will set California’s oil drilling fees at levels similar to those in Oklahoma, Alaska, and Texas at no cost to consumers and with no increase at the pump. The California Attorney General has confirmed that Prop 87 makes it illegal for oil companies to raise gas prices to pass the cost of the fee to consumers.

Tight.