I think people are mad at the Oil Companies would realize the REAL problem is an overreaching Fed and State Govt. For example, does YOUR state have this law? In Minnesota the REQUIRED price per gallon MUST be at least $.08 OVER wholesale. The argument is that "We must protect the little guy from being squeezed out by the big chains". The result is a complete negation of free market forces on the price of gas.
Rush Ping
No, they are opening convenience stores because the mark-up on goods sold is higher than the nickel a gallon they are "allowed" to ear by the oil companies, and the liability insurance is less than the mechanics spaces that the store now occupies.
I had one gas station owner tell me that if he hadn't changed the mechanic's garage into a convenience store, he was going to have to sell the place. He wan't making enough profit to bother with the place.
Major Garrett on FNC ran a series (I didn't get to see them all) on why gasoline costs what it does, and the one show I did see was on how the oil companies only allow the gas stations a 5 cent profit one very gallon. It is mandated on their website, every Morning.
Now, if the 5 cents is on gasoline in the tanks that the guy bought when the gasoline cost him less, yeah - he is making a royal 15-20 cents profit on that gasoline. But if he has to fill his tanks every 3 days, you can deduce that the "gouging" or the "good profit for him", isn't going to last for very long.