 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / May 2005Bushamerica - Govt forces service stations to RAISE gas prices
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/05/AR2005050502032.html By Justin Blum Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 6, 2005; Page A01 A gasoline price war erupted in St. Mary's County last week after one station slashed its price for regular to $1.999 a gallon and spurred three others to follow suit, giving drivers some hope of relief at the pump. But the price dip proved fleeting. Maryland regulators quickly stepped in and told the stations that their prices were too low. They needed to go up by 5 cents. In as much time as it takes to fill the tank of an SUV, prices at BJ's Wholesale Club, Sheetz and two Wawa outlets bounced to $2.049 a gallon. The sudden fluctuation in the Lexington Park area was the result of a little-noticed Maryland law that took effect in 2001. The General Assembly mandated that stations cannot charge less than what they pay for gas -- unless they're lowering prices to compete with a nearby station. Independent service station owners pressed lawmakers for the measure as a way to protect themselves from big retailers selling gas below cost to drive them out of business and limit competition. Maryland is one of at least 13 states to adopt similar laws, which are not in effect in the District or Virginia. (snip) -------------------------------------------- I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has decided to start enforcing the little-known laws that prohibit underselling of gasoline and require a 6% markup (and the legislature and the voters are up in arms over it). Certainly this sounds similar. BTW, Louisiana's 'unfair pricing' law dates to 1940. > I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the > situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > BTW, Louisiana's 'unfair pricing' law dates to 1940. That is basically the same thing happening here in Maryland. What I really find amusing is the originator of the post tries to blame President Bush for the stopping of the price war. See massage header. The Democrat controlled Maryland State Legislature during the previous Democrat administration pass the law making it unlawful to sell fuel below cost to protect independent retailers.  SignatureJohn in the sand box of Marylands eastern shore. >>I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the >>situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > the law making it unlawful to sell fuel below cost to protect > independent retailers. But the cost is dropping, so your culprit couldn't be the legislature. > >>I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the > >>situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > But the cost is dropping, so your culprit couldn't > be the legislature. Did I miss something here or are you responding to a different thread. SignatureJohn in the sand box of Marylands eastern shore. >>>>I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the >>>>situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Did I miss something here or are you responding to a different > thread. You missed something. The cost of gas right now is going *down*, so the state mandated price could not go *up*. Therefore, your rant about the Democrats is invalid in this case. > >>>>I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the > >>>>situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Therefore, your rant about the Democrats is invalid in this > case. Sure it's going down. However the retailers in question in the Washington Post article were lowering their prices faster then the rest of the market in violation of selling of motor fuel below cost law. SignatureJohn in the sand box of Marylands eastern shore. >>>>>>I thought for a moment there that this thread was referring to the >>>>>>situation in Louisiana of late, where the agricultural secretary has [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > then the rest of the market in violation of selling of motor > fuel below cost law. I think that you and I are at cross purposes here. I assumed that the thread was about the prices going up. On Sat, 14 May 2005 01:02:52 -0400, John R Cambron , said the following in rec.autos.driving... > > You missed something. The cost of gas right now is going > > *down*, so the state mandated price could not go *up*. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > then the rest of the market in violation of selling of motor > fuel below cost law. Dumb question, but exactly what to the retailers hope to accomplish with their price undercutting on gasoline. Is the profit margin on a fountain coke or a 6-pack of Bud that great? > Dumb question, but exactly what to the retailers hope to accomplish with > their price undercutting on gasoline. Is the profit margin on a fountain > coke or a 6-pack of Bud that great? Better than on a gallon of gas. A 32 oz fountain drink retails for let's say 99c + tax. The cup costs maybe 10c, the fountain syrup, water and carbonation maybe 15c . So cost is 25c, retail is 99c yielding 74 percent profit. If the mark-up on a gallon of gas is 6c, the retailer only makes 2c after paying credit card fees... that's maybe 1 percent profit. If the retailer can get them to stop for the cheap fuel, they stand to make it up on inside sales. It wouldn't surprise me greatly if gas prices WERE set at a minimum, since states like Arkansas legislate the minimum markup on a carton of cigarettes. >Dumb question, but exactly what to the retailers hope to accomplish with >their price undercutting on gasoline. Is the profit margin on a fountain >coke or a 6-pack of Bud that great? It's common knowledge that the most expensive component of a fountain soda drink is the cup. Let's be generous and say that 44-ounce Super Big Gulp cup costs $0.05. That's one hell of a profit margin. SignatureLife is short - drive fast! http://www.geocities.com/scottenaztlan/ > A gasoline price war erupted in St. Mary's County last week after one > station slashed its price for regular to $1.999 a gallon and spurred [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Maryland regulators quickly stepped in and told the stations that > their prices were too low. They needed to go up by 5 cents. I normally don't respond to your delusional conspiracy theories, but you do realize that "Maryland regulators" means the STATE government, not the FEDERAL government, right? SP Cook > > A gasoline price war erupted in St. Mary's County last week after one > > station slashed its price for regular to $1.999 a gallon and spurred [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > you do realize that "Maryland regulators" means the STATE government, > not the FEDERAL government, right? So what? > > > A gasoline price war erupted in St. Mary's County last week after > one [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > So what? Law and regulation passed by a democrat controlled state legislature I would also point out. SignatureJohn in the sand box of Marylands eastern shore. > > > A gasoline price war erupted in St. Mary's County last week after > one [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > So what? Is that the best reply you can offer, or did you again get caught looking the fool you are? On 12 May 2005 03:40:32 -0700, SP Cook , said the following in rec.autos.driving... > I normally don't respond to your delusional conspiracy theories, but > you do realize that "Maryland regulators" means the STATE government, > not the FEDERAL government, right? It is well established that judy SFB can't tell the difference between "6," and "60," in r.a.d. I highly doubt it has the mental capacity to determine the difference between state and federal governments. > On 12 May 2005 03:40:32 -0700, SP Cook , said the following in > rec.autos.driving... [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > "6," and "60," in r.a.d. I highly doubt it has the mental capacity to > determine the difference between state and federal governments. Or the fact that Maryland's state legislature is heavily weighted Democrat and that the sponsor of the bill I believe was also a Democrat. So Judy is lambasting his favorite political party to boot with his post. What could be any funnier than that!? Your Face ? > > On 12 May 2005 03:40:32 -0700, SP Cook , said the following in > > rec.autos.driving... [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > lambasting his favorite political party to boot with his post. What could > be any funnier than that!? To some I suppose. ;-) > Your Face ? >> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >> could >> be any funnier than that!? "Judy Diarrhea murdered her turd tamper" wrote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/05/AR2005050502032.html > The sudden fluctuation in the Lexington Park area was the result of a > little-noticed Maryland law that took effect in 2001. The General > Assembly mandated that stations cannot charge less than what they pay > for gas -- unless they're lowering prices to compete with a nearby > station. Dumb-a.s; this was done to protect the little guy from the likes of your hero Sam Walton. First you piss and moan about corporate execs getting too much, and when government regulation appears to try to limit that, you piss and moan about that. No wonder you can't get laid, loser. > "Judy Diarrhea murdered her turd tamper" wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > much, and when government regulation appears to try to limit that, you > piss and moan about that. No wonder you can't get laid, loser. This was done by Demorats to screw the public. Socialists don't believe in competition. And they call it "protecting the little guy." Markets ration supply. Governments can only create inefficiency and scam the public. Government does nothing well. SignatureJames E. Morrow Email to jamesemorrow@email.com "I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after the mirage of social justice." Dr. Fredrich August von Hayek James E. Morrow wrote: > > "Judy Diarrhea murdered her turd tamper" wrote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/05/AR2005050502032.html > > > The sudden fluctuation in the Lexington Park area was the result of a > > > little-noticed Maryland law that took effect in 2001. The General [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > This was done by Demorats to screw the public. Socialists don't believe > in competition. And they call it "protecting the little guy." Markets > ration supply. Governments can only create inefficiency and scam the > public. > > Government does nothing well. It does one thing well: it raises dimorats. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.