SACRAMENTO — One of the more useful features of social media site X (formerly known as Twitter) is its community notes feature, which allows intrepid readers to add context to a disingenuous post by a politician or online influencer. For example, Gavin Newsom recently posted a 60-second video explaining to Californians the reason for our astronomically high gas prices and blaming it on price gouging.

“Don’t believe the oil companies’ scaremongering. California’s clean air policy isn’t the problem – it’s greed,” says the video released by the governor’s office. His most important piece of evidence: Oil companies’ profits reached record highs while gasoline prices in California soared.

But X’s readers stated the obvious (citing the Los Angeles Times): “State leaders and experts … cited ‘the relative lack of competition’ among refiners, supply shortages of California’s ‘unique clean gasoline’ and higher state taxes as three of the main reasons for the price increase. They found no hard evidence of price gouging.” Oil companies operate nationwide, so it’s really hard to understand why greed isn’t a problem in other states.

This shocks progressives, but prices are determined by supply and demand. Every seller tries to get the highest price possible, while buyers want the lowest price possible. In a competitive market, there is no such thing as “gouging.” By the way, I have yet to meet even the most progressive person who would voluntarily sell their home for less than the going rate. Newsom has touted a new state law to combat price gouging, but the root of the problem is his own government policies.

So why is there so little competition among refineries in California?

First, the state requires environmentally friendly formulations, which means we can’t buy gasoline sold in Nevada or Oregon. “California’s more restrictive gasoline specifications can limit the availability of supplies from other markets,” explains the US Energy Information Agency. These restrictions make fuels more expensive to produce, leaving California vulnerable to supply disruptions if, for example, one of those few refineries needs repairs.

Second, California has the highest state gasoline tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon, according to the Tax Foundation. The state also raised its gasoline taxes in July. While not a tax per se, the new low-carbon fuel standards issued by the California Air Resources Board are expected (according to the agency’s estimates) to raise prices by 52 cents per gallon in 2026.

Gasoline prices in the state are currently $1.30 above the national average, but the difference is about to get even bigger thanks to this state policy supported by Newsom. Apparently, the governor doesn’t want gas prices to fall – or at least low prices aren’t a big priority.

Third, the state’s climate action is designed to effectively put the oil industry out of business. Newsom is promoting a law that will effectively ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035 by requiring all new cars to have zero emissions.

“Cars should not melt glaciers or raise sea levels, threatening our beloved beaches and coastlines,” Newsom said in support of such rules. The state has already banned the sale of internal combustion engine lawn equipment. Meanwhile, Newsom recently signed a law that forces oil companies to comply with costly new regulations that compel them to disclose their alleged impacts on the climate.

Attorney General Rob Bonta – with the support of Newsom – has “filed a lawsuit alleging” that “major oil companies have engaged in a decades-long campaign of deception regarding the reality of climate change and the connection between fossil fuel combustion and climate change, resulting in climate change-related harm in California,” according to a statement from Bonta’s office.

In a X-response to the Newsom video, one commenter noted that California has a shortage of oil refineries. Oil companies aren’t stupid. They won’t invest in additional refining capacity in a state that apparently doesn’t want them here. Fewer refineries further reduces supply and drives up prices. It’s no surprise that under these conditions, Chevron decided to close its headquarters in San Ramon and move 2,000 jobs to Houston — abandoning a presence here that dates back to the 1870s.