Poll: Most Blame Oil Companies For High Prices

A new statewide poll says Californians believe by more than five to one that rising gasoline prices are more a result of corporate profiteering than a legitimate market condition.

A Field Poll released today reports 77 percent of adults – and 76 percent of California´s registered voters – mostly blame oil companies for a $.56 jump in gas prices the past year.

The poll shows that 86 percent of Democrats believe oil companies are mostly to blame – compared to 67 percent of Republicans who say the same.

Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo says the numbers are a near replay of California´s sentiment during a 2001 electricity crisis and a 1979 surge in gasoline prices. Both times, 70 percent of adults blamed energy companies.

The poll also shows that households earning less than $20,000 yearly are most likely to call gas prices very serious.