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State officials in California have blamed everyone but themselves for having some of the highest gas prices in the country. According to them, it has absolutely nothing to do with the progressive policies they put in place and everything to do with greedy corporations. The problem with that claim, however, is that there is no evidence to prove such a lie. And when you look right below the surface, you uncover that state policies and refinery closures have a lot to do with it.

A six-month CBS investigation finds no evidence of price gouging by oil companies. And if you are surprised by this, you are not paying attention.

According to CBS:

For years, California leaders accused oil companies of price gouging.

Instead, a six-month-long CBS News California investigation revealed a complicated reality shaped by state policies, refinery closures, and global supply risks that uniquely impact California's isolated fuel market.

Why California gas costs more: Higher taxes, labor and business costs, combined with environmental programs, regulations, and the state's unique fuel blend, drive up baseline prices.

It turns out that rising costs, “increasing regulations, long-term policy uncertainty, and shrinking returns” don't do much to incentivize refineries to stay in the Golden State. Who could have guessed?

The political narrative is shifting: After failing to prove price gouging — and grappling with the impact of two shuttered refineries — state leaders are now publicly acknowledging the need to incentivize oil companies to stay.

While it is nice that the investigative reporting took place, you didn't need it, as long as you had this little thing called “common sense.” It makes zero sense for oil companies to price-gouge in one state. It makes zero sense why California has the highest gas prices in the nation, yet it supposedly has nothing to do with them. And it makes zero sense for state officials in the state with the highest gas tax to blame everyone but themselves.

Last time gas hit $6 a gallon in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom began accusing oil companies of price gouging. California's supermajority Democratic legislature held a taxpayer-funded "price gouging" special session, culminating with legislation that was intended to cap oil company profits and force them to open their books.

More than two years later, state officials say they found no evidence of illegal price gouging. Instead, two refineries shut down, taking nearly 20% of the state's refining capacity.

It is no shock that the more hostile state leaders are to these companies, the less they want to work in the state. Why would they stay in a place where the governor bashes and blames them for the wrongdoings of elected officials, so much so that they make lies that claim they are gouging prices at the expense of residents? The math is not adding up, and it is deeply pathetic that state leaders blame them when the majority of the guilt rests on their shoulders.

Maybe one day the state will stop making it extremely difficult for these companies to do business in California, but as of this writing, there is no shot of that happening anytime soon.

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