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Duh: gas stations DO price gouge for their product.
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dmcowen674
No Lifer
Yes, it should be $10 a gallon based on $70 a barrel.
lokiju
Lifer
All gas stations in my area are currently at the $2.90 mark but down the road at Sam's club with the gas station is $2.60, go figure.
All gas is the same and comes from the same place the only difference is what additives they add to it, I used to work at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale and they'd bring in the gas ships, off load the gas into huge containers then just ad their additives that determine what gas station they're going to sell it at.
It's B.S. how much of a range in price there is, it should all be the same or within a few (5) cents of each other.
All gas is the same and comes from the same place the only difference is what additives they add to it, I used to work at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale and they'd bring in the gas ships, off load the gas into huge containers then just ad their additives that determine what gas station they're going to sell it at.
It's B.S. how much of a range in price there is, it should all be the same or within a few (5) cents of each other.
EKKC
Diamond Member
exactly. for all we know, it can be $6/gallon, and we're still forced to pay it. i need to drive to work everyday, there's no second option. so many people will make adjustments around it, and if the big oil sees that the public can afford 6 dollar gas, it won't come down again.
simple as that.
dmcowen674
No Lifer
Many other States have this same Law, apparently Georgia is not one of them.
Opponents to the Law claim the Law actually drives prices up rather than down.
Interesting, then why do you not see like a $1 difference in gas prices???
Because it is all BS
Enjoy
10-1-2001 The state of Maryland passed a law that took effect on October 1, 2001 which made it illegal to sell gas below wholesale cost.
The state of Maryland passed a law that took effect on October 1, 2001 which made it illegal to sell gas below wholesale cost.
The law is targeted at the two national warehouse club chains, Sam?s Club (owned by Wal-Mart) and BJ?s Wholesale Club, which have begun offering gas at steeply discounted prices to members.
This law is a classic example of rent seeking, the process in which companies use the political process to pass laws that benefit industry and boost profits at the cost of consumer welfare, generally by reducing competition and thus raising the price consumers pay.
According to a Baltimore Sun article from August 21, 2001, the law allows people (namely competitors) to complain about gas prices that are too low, and the Comptroller of the State of Maryland will investigate and can order the station to stop selling gas at that price (Cadiz, 1).
The traditional rational for such a law ? and one sited in the Sun article by Richard Carey, the director of fuel taxation for the State of Maryland Comptroller?s office, is predatory pricing - that national retailers will price gas below cost in order to drive out competitors, and then, when they have a monopoly position, will be able to raise the price of gasoline and extract monopoly competition.
rh71
No Lifer
I thought here at ATOT, we all knew that if those SUV owners would just stop driving those SUVs, we'd all have cheaper gas prices fo sho!!!!! Come on now... it has nothing to do with price gouging or their simple desire to charge what people are willing to pay. It's because SUVs exist.
NuclearNed
Raconteur
No - other local towns are still about 20 cents higher than us.
It sure would help... it's pathetically laughable the number of V8 SUV's I see cruising into downtown during the work commute, all typically with a single occupant. And then we have the nerve to complain about gas prices?
If I owned a gas company I would charge as much as I could get... if you can afford a V8 SUV, then you can afford the gas to get to work when you commute all by yourself....
Like I said, wouldn't suprise me at all that Wal-Mart was pricing gas below their own costs just to get people to come on in...
The fact that all of the other local towns have gas prices 20 cents higher than you only reinforces the notion that price fixing is not at work-- when competitors are few, price fixing is easy. When competition is high, price fixing is nearly impossible.
EKKC
Diamond Member
i dont think its people driving a v8 suv or a maserati or a hummer complaining. its the lower working class people driving a normal 1999 camry or 1995 accord who have mildly okay gas mileage but are only making 30k or 40k and need to drive 120 miles a day.
i personally dont care if its 4 or 6 or 8 dollar a gallon, i drive my SUV (v6 mind you) 100 miles a day round trip to my client, i have to drive it, and I can afford it fine as long as its under 10 dollars a gallon, yeah i will take a hit but it's not like i'm going to stop eating lunches because of gas prices. i am not about to get a hybrid just because of gas prices.
I do not like paying $3 a gallon for gas but if that is the only way it will kick Americans into alternative fuels then I am all for it. The supply/demand issue is BS when it comes to gas. Has anyone here not been able to purchase gas??? I have never, in my lifetime, seen a supply problem, only rumors of supply shortages.
dmcowen674
No Lifer
They claim they have run out of gas all the time. Where have you've been??? 😕
The Three big Oil Execs were on Meet The Press yesterday saying they don't have enough supply of Oil to make Gasoline.
They say this even as Oil Inventories at at 8 year highs.
You believe them don't you???
They also said they aren't making a big profit either. Still believe them?
EKKC
Diamond Member
we have enough reserves and untapped resources in alaska to last a while even if the whole middle east is destroyed (and we can invade venezuela, i never liked bush but i never liked that guy Chavez either for his big mouth) that's still plenty time to force us to make ethanol or other alt-fuels to replace gasoline.
its like me at work, when there's no deadline in sight, i procrastinate, but if the deadline is looming, i work my arse off. you have to give a deadline of when gasoline WILL run out, then the whole human race would be forced to work together on alt-fuels
If you've never seen a supply problem, you probably didn't live through the late 70s when gas prices were capped, causing shortages everywhere.
And just because you've never seen a gas station run out of gas doesn't mean that the laws of supply and demand aren't in effect-- they still are to some extent. And to the extent that they aren't, it is actually benefitting you, the consumer.
If the laws of supply and demand are in effect, why wouldn't (or shouldn't) the gas companies just set the price of gas at $3.25 and pocket all of that extra money? We as Americans have already demonstrated that $3.25 is not a barrier to us consuming fuel willy-nilly...
The main reason why gas prices fluctuate so much without reason, is that its futurse are being traded like a common stock. Oil companies, brokers, and investors are making a killing off of the insane oil market. Prices goes up in whim by "OMG shortage!" rumors despite underlying numbers supporting otherwise. Prices keeping going up, because those that profit from it are expecting to keep playing the game. It's really a sick game. Say you buy oil future for July now. You expect that oil prices will go up dramatically due to summer vacation driving. However, since gas is expensive, consumers cuts back on the vacation. The real market demand for oil is either stagnant or drops, thus in a sane market oil prices should drop. But, instead, since the oil is traded in future fashion, you see a oppourtunity in making a profit by continually buying/selling/tradnig up the prices of oil futures for August and onwards, despite the fact that demand isn't there(or high enough to support the prices). Prices stay artificially high, and those in the top profits. The small drop we've seen as "relief" is probably nothing more than price decrase from regular sale of the futures to cash in their profit.
There used to be some economist (heard on NPR) that talked about how oil prices and the oil futures market was going insane. They were talking about how investors continously driving up the prices of the future, setting a upward price trend that they can profit off of. They concluded that oil prices were forming a "bubble". From what little knowledge I have of economics, I think it's odd that price trend is rising much faster than the demand. Sure, globally, we're consuming more oil than ever before, but has it double/tripled since the days of $1/gal?
There are tons and tons of alternatives, beyond technology. The techonology is already there, but we, as society is took addicted to oil, and those who profit sees no point in changing the status quo.
There used to be some economist (heard on NPR) that talked about how oil prices and the oil futures market was going insane. They were talking about how investors continously driving up the prices of the future, setting a upward price trend that they can profit off of. They concluded that oil prices were forming a "bubble". From what little knowledge I have of economics, I think it's odd that price trend is rising much faster than the demand. Sure, globally, we're consuming more oil than ever before, but has it double/tripled since the days of $1/gal?
There are tons and tons of alternatives, beyond technology. The techonology is already there, but we, as society is took addicted to oil, and those who profit sees no point in changing the status quo.
I agree, it seems that after the "supply crisis" gas prices have not gone back down to equal demand, I believe they are pocketing the extra money (the big three have posted record earnings last year, that should be a hint). I blame oil companies but I also blame us as we are highly dependant on oil. It will be a long, hard fight to get us out of the "American" mentality...
Shortage from embargo is different from "shortage" of today. Back then, the shortage was real. We actually didn't HAVE the oil or expectation of relief from anywhere soon. Oil producing countries weren't completely reliant on their oil revenue, so they had options not to sell oil to us.
Today, we're under constant FUD about "Iran, Venezuela, and etc not sending us oil". The fact is, oil producing countries has to sell their oil to maintain their society and economy; they don't have the option NOT to sell. Even with EU and China factored in, US is still the disproportionate consumer of oil, thus oil producer has to sell their wares to us, because their other clients doesn't have the capacity to buy/store the excess from US's portion withheld. Unless there is a completely credible studies detailing how much extractable oil is left on Earth, there will never be a true "shortage" of oil until every well on Earth goes dry.
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