Thomas J.J. Martin III's letter ("Show backbone on gas prices," Nov. 4) leaves the false impression that New York's high gas prices are the fault of oil companies, not politicians.
The majority of the price differential between the states does not result from the oil companies. It comes from our greedy politicians and the taxes they impose. New York has the highest tax on gasoline in the country at 69.7 cents per gallon, according to the October 2012 report from the American Petroleum Institute. That is 20.4 cents higher than the national average.
The federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents. The rest goes to the state. That means the state actually makes more per gallon than the refineries and drillers do. JOHN KIERNAN Voorheesville