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Gas prices and price gouging
News from Pensacola
| September 1, 2005
| "Blueberry12"
Posted on 09/01/2005 9:12:07 AM PDT by blueberry12
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To: wideawake
People will run out and buy a new iPod for $499 and they don't seem to get mad when they see the same model in a store 6 months later with a $349 price tag.
Exactly. I saw a woman in the grocery checkout with 4 cans of Red Bull. While waiting her turn she put them back in the aisle-end cooler, and took out 4 of the new energy drink from Mountain Dew. I asked her if it was better than Red Bull. (which I don't drink) She shrugged, smiled and said "With gas prices the way they are.." The MD drink was $1.79 per 9-ounce can. I didn't bother bringing it to her attention that the drink was roughly $20 a gallon.
To: carlr
Don`t kid yourself,they did this to achieve a greater profit.Wrong.
22
posted on
09/01/2005 9:28:10 AM PDT
by
wideawake
(God bless our brave troops and their Commander in Chief)
To: blueberry12
Oh, thank you so much for your post! You bring sanity to the discussion of economics on this board. The present-day "conservatives" think like socialists all too readily, and think not for a second before accusing someone of gouging or greed.
Why should gas be sold on any basis other than supply and demand? Does anyone complain when wheat goes up because China is rumored to buy. The cost of producing that wheat did not change --- nobody calls that gouging. Ah, that's because a farmer that will pocket that money looks like my grandpa, but a corporation is a "heartless capitalist enterprise" that these socialist want to bring down.
I am not even talking about details here. Does anyone think that gas stations are selling less gasoline because of shortage? How are they supposed to cover salaries and utility bills that do not stop because of that?
To: wideawake
"Yet these same people will go apesh!t if they seem gas rise from 2.75 to 4.00."
An ipod is an item purchased with disposable income when the person buying it as able to afford it. Gasoline is a necessity for most people. No gas, no car, no work, no food. When you start asking people to choose between paying to put gas in their car and food on their table, and the price increase has nothing to do with supplier-side cost increases, then yes, people get pissed.
"If these people were taught half as much about basic economics as they are about condoms this idiotic "gouging" talk wouldn't be polluting our national discourse."
Would you say the same thing if every grocery store in a large area suddenly, and for no reason, raised the price of bread and milk to three times their normal cost?
Not everyone has disposable income. For many, doubling and tripling the cost of gas has very real and very serious consequences for their lives. Luckily, I don't have to drive long distances, I have a car that gets great mileage, and I'm in a position where it's financially feasible for me to deal with the pricing increase. That said, my cost for a full tank of gas has gone from $25 to about $45. That's $25 being taken out of my pocket. If it's not tied to an increase in the station's cost, then I'm pissed too.
24
posted on
09/01/2005 9:29:14 AM PDT
by
NJ_gent
(Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.)
To: BMC1
If you find a station engaging in price gouging, What is gouging? When you see price going up, when does it become gouging?
To: darkwing104
" wonder how this will hurt the people who really need gas as a result of Katrina."
It will ensure that gas is available to them. Read a little Thomas Sowell and things may become clearer for you.
26
posted on
09/01/2005 9:29:45 AM PDT
by
CSM
( If the government has taken your money, it has fulfilled its Social Security promises. (dufekin))
To: Dems_R_Losers
In the southeast there IS a real shortage. Should be better after the weekend but right now a lot of stations simply are out of gas.
27
posted on
09/01/2005 9:30:54 AM PDT
by
mlc9852
To: BMC1
Thank you. Here is a quote from that article:
This is a problem borne of economic ignorance. Our hideous government schools do a pathetic job of teaching the very basics of free market economics. The ignorance of the public is then exploited by politicians for votes and support.
To: mlc9852
You mean those who had the most money. When the money runs out it will go to the biggest gun.
29
posted on
09/01/2005 9:32:49 AM PDT
by
itsahoot
(Any country that does not control its borders, is not a country. Ronald Reagan)
To: blueberry12
The problem is that we don't have a free market in oil and gasoline.
One of the requirements for a free market is the ability for new sellers to enter the arena. The enviros and NIMBYs have essentially made that impossible.
We are agreed that price controls or rationing would make the situation worse.
What would be best at this time is the idea of a "national refinery reserve" using ex-military bases, to ensure that we don't get caught short again.
Where I really fault the Bush administration is that this could have been started FIVE YEARS ago.
30
posted on
09/01/2005 9:33:01 AM PDT
by
Uncle Fud
(Imagine the President calling fascism a "religion of peace" in 1942)
To: NJ_gent
As opposed to not being able to get gas at any price?
31
posted on
09/01/2005 9:33:23 AM PDT
by
lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
To: Dems_R_Losers
It's unfortunate that so many people panic on rumors - they are creating a shortage that otherwise wouldn't have occurred. I don't know how you stop people from being stupid.This soooo nails this situation on the head. I just hope and pray the stupid are outnumbered; this could get real ugly fast if cooler heads don't prevail.
To: Halfmanhalfamazing
"Higher gas prices which we call "price gouging" is really not a dirty business. It is a normal thing that happens in a free market."
Price gouging not a dirty business? I see it as dirty as the looters. Its like the Stores stealing from the citizens, instead of the citizens stealing from the stores. Its legal, but just as unethical.
33
posted on
09/01/2005 9:34:11 AM PDT
by
GregoTX
(The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
To: NJ_gent
"...full tank of gas has gone from $25 to about $45. That's $25 being taken out of my pocket. If it's not tied to an increase in the station's cost, then I'm pissed too."
Your understanding of math seems to be on par with your understanding of economics. ;-) (joking...)
Seriesly, how do you ensure that the resources are diverted to the greatest need if you don't raise the prices and force people to buy only the required amount?
For a better understanding, check out this article:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20040914.shtml
34
posted on
09/01/2005 9:35:12 AM PDT
by
CSM
( If the government has taken your money, it has fulfilled its Social Security promises. (dufekin))
To: carlr
Don`t kid yourself,they did this to achieve a greater profit
Gee let me guess, they had President Bush come up with a Hurricane so that all of the pipelines feeding the SE didn't have any power to pump the gas right? It's all for greater profit.
open your eyes!! The gas pipelines have been damaged. other sections HAVE NO POWER. You can't ship the gas from the refineries to the taps so the trucks can take it to the consumers without it.
35
posted on
09/01/2005 9:36:10 AM PDT
by
MikefromOhio
(Ohio State (-15) vs. Miami of Ohio, September 3rd)
To: EagleUSA
While there are upward pressures on the cost of refined products, the price of crude is nothing but pure greed. Even the Saudis are admitting (amazingly) that the price is synthetically too high. All prices are "synthetically" high: if another refinery were built, there would less upward pressure on gas prices. If IBM (now Lenovo) were to build an extra plant, there would be no waiting list for certain notebook computers they produce.
The point is, that both the demand and the supply sides have reasons for either changing or leaving their decisions unchanged when the environment changes.
In contrast, greed is an irrational emotion. Before you accuse someone of that, YOU have to show that decisions --- whether those of Saudis of gas station owners --- are irrational. Short of that, it is YOU who is doing something immoral, namely, accusing someone without evidence.
To: GregoTX
You need to read the article linked in #34.
37
posted on
09/01/2005 9:37:56 AM PDT
by
CSM
( If the government has taken your money, it has fulfilled its Social Security promises. (dufekin))
To: blueberry12
The $6 guy can charge what he wants...its his gas.
And I as a consumer, can say I hope he chokes on it, every drop.
Because he raised the price so high, those who truly need it have access to it? Really? Maybe those who truly need it can no longer afford it!
The fuel in the tanks was purchased for far less than $6 per gallon. I am not even sure why gas jumped to $3.50. THAT I see as gouging. There is no "crisis" yet....just an anticipated one which may or may not materialize. People weren't clamoring for gas in a panic prior to the rise in prices.
The only reason there is a run on gas stations now is because the companies have taken it upon themselves to raise the price 2-3-5 times a day. If they had held the prices, there would have been no "run".
38
posted on
09/01/2005 9:39:31 AM PDT
by
Adder
(Can we bring back stoning again? Please?)
To: mlc9852
"thus fuel was sold EXCLUSIVELY to those who needed it the most."
You mean those who had the most money.No, those who need it most. Even very poor people manage to pay for gas, cigarettes, etc., despite the price. They conserve, they carpool, they do what they need to, but if they want a smoke more than they want gas, they'll walk to the store for ciggies--and if they want gas more than smokes, they'll endure the cravings.
A rich guy might buy the gas, but that's not a given. He, too, has priorities. I'm not rich, but certainly upper-middle-class, and I can say that I do prioritize between gas and the next-most-important thing on my agenda. If gas goes to $10, I may keep driving--but I'll stop gassing up my yacht, and just leave it in the drydock. Also my helicopter; no more joyrides for me, till the price comes back down. And forget about my MIG--that thing throws fuel out the afterburner, man. So while rich guys can still buy more gas than poor guys, even us rich guys are adapting our behavior to the new price scheme, and it's lucky for the rest of you that we are.
39
posted on
09/01/2005 9:39:44 AM PDT
by
Shalom Israel
(Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.)
To: blueberry12
I travel regularly between Houston and Fredericksburg, Texas.... Normally the gasoline gets a bit more costly the further west I travel....
This past weekend, almost every gasoline station, regardless of company, seemed to have prices no more than $2.49 per gallon.... Really...this was so unusual, because it was actually cheaper than in Houston.
I have no other theory...than the simple fact that the corporations may be pressing the retail outlets to be conscious of the consumer attitude and sadly....the possibility of price controls.
40
posted on
09/01/2005 9:39:47 AM PDT
by
cbkaty
(I may not always post...but I am always here......)
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