Has anyone noticed the price of gasoline the last week or so? In case you've been taking public transportation and haven't seen, it's dropping like a rock. Some "experts" are
, perhaps as low or lower than "pre-Katrina" prices within a week.
How is this possible? Don't you remember all the complaining just last week? Don't you remember all the doom and gloom about how it was the end of the world because evil oil companies were gouging people? Heck, GA instituted "investigations" into price gouging. Gas stations were running out of gasoline because there was a "shortage." It was the end of the world.
However, since government mostly stayed the heck out of the way, we now see the free market at work. Katrina struck just before Labor Day weekend -- the weekend in the year where demand is the highest for gasoline. Gas prices ALWAYS are at their highest in August (when demand is highest), and usually peaks about Labor Day weekend. Just like every other year, after the demand falls, the prices drop.
There's no such thing as "price gouging." If you don't want to buy it, don't buy it. You can't claim you "need" it and therefore there should be government control -- do you need food? Certainly you need food quite a bit more than you need gasoline -- but there's no government regulation of food in the form of price caps, is there?
Every time the free market is tried, it works. Supply and demand systems WORK. Let them work. The only time they do not is when government gets involved because government, by definition, can only interfere and damage the free market system.
1
Right On!
Ever notice that they'll institute price caps before even considering lowering the gas tax? Which is more likely to work?
Posted by: Echo Zoe at September 13, 2005 07:35 AM (keU2o)
2
I'm telling you, if government would just get out of the way, this country would be an economic engine that would put the world to shame!
Posted by: Ogre at September 13, 2005 07:49 AM (/k+l4)
3
well the reason price is dropping is because I've stopped driving my truck. The Oil companies have lost a lot of revenue since I started car pooling.
Scarily enough right after I bought that truck the gas prices sky rocketed and shortly after I stopped driving it they are starting to drop. I know it's a coincidence, but it's amusing.
Posted by: Contagion at September 13, 2005 08:44 AM (Q5WxB)
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Also remember that prices began rising two weeks before katrina hit, because of the Labor Day holiday. Gas prices always rise before a holiday. Fortunately for the oil companies, katrina came along, and they were able to keep the inflated prices up another week. ExxonMobil announced the other day that their quarterly profit is $10 Billion. Thats $10 Million per day!
Posted by: hiikeeba at September 13, 2005 09:28 AM (PdMcB)
5
It's all a scam. My Wal-Mart ran out of coffee, hasn't had any in a week...they blame Hurricane Katrina, now how do they get all other foods but not coffee? How is it Hurricane Katrina's fault? Please tell me, I really want to know.
Posted by: Cindy at September 13, 2005 09:51 AM (tys5d)
6
Cindy - actually, since a lot of coffee comes from South America, the damage to the Gulf Coast ports could raise transportation costs, since the beans will have to be delivered via a less-direct path.
Posted by: Harvey at September 13, 2005 10:18 AM (ubhj8)
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And strangely enough, Contagion, I did the exact opposite. It was just days before Katrina hit that I traded my 15mpg vehicle for a 30mpg one!
Isn't that great, hiikeeba? I think everyone should go buy stock in ExxonMobil! Then everyone could share in the record profits.
Cindy, I'm pretty sure that's Bush's fault, too. Something to do with Bush's dealings with the Columbian drug lords as the CIA tries to kill all black people by getting them addicted to crack. Currently most of the shipping markets must be used by the crack dealers and they have no room for coffee.
Oh wait, don't they use coffee to hide drug shipments? They did in Beverly Hills Cop, right? Wait, isn't Eddie Murphy black? So therefore, I have proven that Bush hates coffee.
Posted by: Ogre at September 13, 2005 10:55 AM (/k+l4)
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Gas went up to 4:09 last week..then suddenly it dropped back down to 3:10 where it's been hovering...we haven't seen a shortage of coffee (Ogre gags at the thought of coffee smells LOL)
We see a shortage of fruits and juices though.
Posted by: Raven at September 13, 2005 07:37 PM (7mbx+)
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4:09? O'clock?
There wasn't as much of a shortage as the press wanted you to believe. I'm not sure you can actually trust the press to report anything accurately any more -- it's always about excitement and drawing in viewers -- not about what actually happened anymore.
Posted by: Ogre at September 13, 2005 08:16 PM (iJFc9)
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I posted on this and got nothing. People dont want to talk aout this issue. I'm glad you did! Great ideas. I saw an interview with a Rep from Washington State - it has a 33 cent tax on gas and their legislature won't roll it back, not even for a few months. Does anyone else think this is wrong?
Posted by: patd95 at September 13, 2005 09:42 PM (/KuBm)
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No, lower prices don't make the news nor gather attention -- only higher prices!
And I'm opposed to darn near every tax that exists, so yes, I think the heavy gas taxes are wrong. Heck, here in North Carolina, the gas taxes are used for anything the legislature wants -- like bribing officials, paying off for votes, or just giving cash to friends.
Posted by: Ogre at September 13, 2005 10:04 PM (iJFc9)
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