It's the market, not highway robbery
First, a blast from the past: I distinctly remember some apologist for the Daddy Government Party (not to be confused with the Mommy Government Party) screaming, "If Al Gore is elected, we'll be paying $3 a gallon for gas in no time." Well, it wasn't "no time," but here we are with another bit of evidence that there ain't not a dime's worth of no difference between these guys.
Anyway: I'm not a trained economist, but I'm baffled by the number of folks who can't grasp why the price of the gasoline a store has already purchased is increased when the wholesale price goes up. Whole newspapers articles are devoted to people calling for an investigation into "price gouging," with guys saying stuff like "There's no reason for gas stations to raise prices by that much here in New Jersey ... My view is some gas stations are taking advantage of the problems caused by the hurricane."
So class, settle down a second and I'll try to explain: The gas in the big underground tank is going to run out. Mr. Gas Station Owner has just heard that to refill the big tank, he's going to have to pay $3 a gallon. If he sells the last 100 gallons he has for $2.59 a gallon, he'll have $2,590 to buy $3,000 worth of gas. So if he doesn't raise the price now, he'll be $410 short on every 100 gallons his tank holds. What would you do?
It's not highway robbery, it's how the market operates.
As usual, Walter Williams can explain it a lot better than I can:
"With the recent spike in gas prices, the government has chosen not to pursue stupid policies of the past. As a result, we haven't seen shortages. We haven't seen long lines. We haven't seen gasoline station fights and riots. Why? Because price has been allowed to perform its valuable function – that of equating demand with supply."
Williams has a few solutions more practical than having Big Daddy and Big Brother punish 7-11, like lifting the various restrictions on drilling for oil under the U.S.A. They're longer-term, but they might make a difference.
Shorter-term, well, I plan to keep the car in shape so it burns gas as efficiently as it can, slow down to the speed limit (you burn less gas at 65 than at 70), and bend over a little farther when it's time to fill up. I think I'll probably refill when the tank reaches half-full instead of almost-empty, too. No sense waiting until it's $3.49 when you can buy it for $3.29 - or whatever.
Anyway: I'm not a trained economist, but I'm baffled by the number of folks who can't grasp why the price of the gasoline a store has already purchased is increased when the wholesale price goes up. Whole newspapers articles are devoted to people calling for an investigation into "price gouging," with guys saying stuff like "There's no reason for gas stations to raise prices by that much here in New Jersey ... My view is some gas stations are taking advantage of the problems caused by the hurricane."
So class, settle down a second and I'll try to explain: The gas in the big underground tank is going to run out. Mr. Gas Station Owner has just heard that to refill the big tank, he's going to have to pay $3 a gallon. If he sells the last 100 gallons he has for $2.59 a gallon, he'll have $2,590 to buy $3,000 worth of gas. So if he doesn't raise the price now, he'll be $410 short on every 100 gallons his tank holds. What would you do?
It's not highway robbery, it's how the market operates.
As usual, Walter Williams can explain it a lot better than I can:
"With the recent spike in gas prices, the government has chosen not to pursue stupid policies of the past. As a result, we haven't seen shortages. We haven't seen long lines. We haven't seen gasoline station fights and riots. Why? Because price has been allowed to perform its valuable function – that of equating demand with supply."
Williams has a few solutions more practical than having Big Daddy and Big Brother punish 7-11, like lifting the various restrictions on drilling for oil under the U.S.A. They're longer-term, but they might make a difference.
Shorter-term, well, I plan to keep the car in shape so it burns gas as efficiently as it can, slow down to the speed limit (you burn less gas at 65 than at 70), and bend over a little farther when it's time to fill up. I think I'll probably refill when the tank reaches half-full instead of almost-empty, too. No sense waiting until it's $3.49 when you can buy it for $3.29 - or whatever.
posted by B.W. Richardson at
9:00 AM
1 Comments:
You might also try adding a little jigger (maybe 2 or 3 oz.) of acetone when you fill up. It helps gasoline to burn more efficiently, so less of it goes out your exhaust unburned.
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