Are You Happy With The Price You Pay at the Pump?

Then, thank a Democrat! I know that sounds kind of like a partisan shot, but really! Remember the bilge and blather that Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts have been pumping for years? Gasoline was $2.32/ gallon the day before Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House. She said that the price of gas was too high, and the Democrats were going to change that!

Millions were invested in "green" energy, billions were funneled to ethanol subsidies, tax breaks were taken away from oil companies, all of which were calculated by the Democrats to "help our economy", increase national security, and drive gas prices down. How successful have they been so far?

And the reasons they gave for the "high" gas price of $2.32 (and rising)? One of them that you just don't hear much any more, (wonder why?) is that the President (Bush) was "too cozy" with the oil companies. Remember that one? Well, for more than two years we have had a president who is definitely not "cozy" with big oil companies. (At least, not the ones in this country. Brazil is another story!). If the Democrats weren't totally delusional or lying to us, getting rid of that "cozy" relationship should have, according to them, caused gas prices to go down. How's that working out for them? For you? For the country?

They say the classic sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and looking for different results. How much longer are we going to leave energy policy in the hands of those who cannot even properly identify the problem much less offer a sane or rational solution?

A couple of Golden Oldies From Nancy Pelosi and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight:



2007

2008


Originally published 3/18/11

In Praise of Price Gouging

Price gouging is a good thing. Honestly. And not in the whole "Greed is good" kind of thing. Price gouging, as many call it can be quite beneficial to society. Let me give you a few examples:

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, you've seen countless pictures of empty shelves, where stores of toilet paper used to be. Maybe you've seen pictures, or witnessed in person, scenes of people buying pickup trucks full of toilet paper or bottled water. Panic buying. You often see it around hurricane season on the coast. People buying plywood to board up windows, building supply companies running out of plywood. As they used to say, "What's a mother to do?"

Now I want you to imagine that you are second in line to buy these necessities. The guy in front of you at Wal-Mart bought their last twenty cases of water, because, even though it was a bit excessive, he could afford it easily. You gaze longingly at the empty shelf and ask if they have any left in the back. No joy.

Same situation, but this time, the retailer dares to raise the price of water, from what it had been the day before, with no further investment on his part, and "gouge" the customer by doubling the price. Tripling the price? Now the guy in front of you says, "That's outrageous! That's price gouging!". But because he really needs some water, buys a case or two anyway, and mirabile dictu, there is water left on the shelf for you and your family and maybe a dozen others. Sure, you'll all complain about the price, but if you need it, you'll buy it, and people will be, in most cases, less likely to hoard it.

I used to get really ticked at gas stations, whenever the price of gasoline went up, they jacked up the price, even though the quantity they already had in the tanks had been purchased at the lower price! They were "profiteering" off the circumstances, weren't they? Not really, because their cost of refilling their tanks the next time was going up and they'll need more cash to buy the product. Would you rather they sold the gas in their tanks, lower than what it would cost to refill them and then risk the possibility of your inconvenience if there's no gas there in the future? Afterwards, when prices fluctuate down again, they'll have to sell that gas they bought at a higher price for a smaller margin, or at cost, as prices come down again.

So, "price gouging" can work as a form of economic rationing, a deterrent to hoarding, to customers, and can flatten spikes in cost to the retailer... is there anything else that might be helpful?

Higher prices can also mitigate risk. What if the retailers were to take it upon themselves to increase the supply to help meet the demand? You order something from Amazon, maybe they ship it to you in a week or two for free. But if you want it overnight, it costs you more. If the retailer hires some guy to make a special trip to get extra product to his customers, over and above his usual delivery, why would he do that if not for monetary consideration. If it provides the necessities his customers need, even if they begrudge him the prices, does it not serve the greater good of the community?

So, how much is too much? Hard to say. That's going to vary. There are some people, like that clown in Tennessee who drove all over the state clearing out stocks of hand sanitizer in every store he visited, hoping to score big. There will always be exceptions to the rule. Obviously not ALL gouging will be good, but penalizing retailers who raise prices in times of shortage can be detrimental, too.

Edmonton Diaries - Fin

"Fins to the left, fins to the right..." Sorry! Must have been listening to too much Radio Margaritaville this last week!

The view from my window seat at SFO
Finally flew home from Canada (or Canadindiana*, as the natives call it), and boy, are my arms tired! A few final thoughts on our friends from the Frozen North. One, the weather was really nice this time of year, even a little warm. The fact that I could see a ski lift on a hill next to one of the highways made me suspect that it might not be a temperate climb all year 'round.

That, and I gather that occasionally, a fight will take place and a hockey game will break out! I went into one sporting goods store, looking for a gym bag or small pack to carry some stuff back across the border, and the hockey section of the store was larger than my first house!

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Another oddity I noticed in Edmonton, was the price of gasoline, and not just that they advertised it in "liters", (An imaginary unit of measurement. It takes two of them to make a good sized bottle of pop!) Knowing I was going to have to fill up the rental car with gas before I left, I took note of the price of gas: $1.149/ liter. I suppose I should break it down for the "metric impaired" (or "muggles" as they call them up here!), it takes 3.78541 liters to make up what we here in the States call a "gallon". Much easier! Thanks for clearing that up, metric system!

So, figuring 3.78541 liters to a gallon, and an exchange rate of $.9495 to $1 US , (I'm doing the math in my head) makes gas about $4.13/gal American for everyone in Edmonton. And I mean everyone. I did not see any variation on that price anywhere in town. Major oil companies and smaller independents, all were $1.149 a liter, every day that I was there, morning, noon and night. By contrast, here in California, I might see the price at an Arco at $3.499 a gallon and a Chevron across the street at $3.719, or anything in between. The price could vary with the proximity to the freeway, or the city or county it was in, but, there's a lot of variation. Plus, it might be $3.499 when you drive by in the morning and $3.569 when you pass by again in the afternoon. Seeing the Stepford gas stations all across Edmonton, unchanging every day, was a bit disconcerting to this California boy. Actually, there was one station with a different price listed, but that price was $0.000, and there was a high chain link fence around it.

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A picture of the White Spot and Denny's, to show "I'm not making this stuff up!"



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The last thing of interest that happened on my Canadian sojourn, took place in...San Francisco! I hit SFO with about an hour layover, after having been delayed an hour getting out** of Edmonton. Seems the geese have priority take off and landing privileges! It was a tad early for dinner, or not, depending on which time zone your stomach was in, so I wandered the concourse not knowing if I was really hungry or what I might be hungry for. I was perusing the signboards at this one establishment, when the fellow behind the counter asked me if I'd like a "free sample". (Fiendishly clever!) He offered a variety of soups and...clam chowder. Always a sucker for a good clam chowder, I said, "Why not?". It's like drug dealing (or so I'm told) but the first taste is free until they've got you hooked.

I ordered a deli ham sandwich on a sourdough roll and a large order of clam chowder. The soup came with a sourdough roll on the side and the sandwich had a small side of cole slaw. The sandwich was probably in the top ten best sandwiches I had ever eaten. The chowder was very, very good and well worth the somewhat inflated prices you pay within the confines of an airline terminal.

The establishment, which I did not choose on the basis of their name, was Max's Eatz and Bakery. Had I been driving by on the highway, I would not even have slowed down for anything that said "Max's Eatz", but my words of advice, are twofold: If you find yourself in SFO around mealtime, try Max's. Really! It's that good! Second, if you go with the large chowder, just get half a sandwich, or vice versa. It was simply too much food for one meal, so I packed half a sandwich out to eat later. (Just as good after I got home!)

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So, it wasn't my intent to give you a restaurant review from SFO as a part of my Edmonton Diary, but there it is, you hosers! Deal with it! I picked up a little bit on the Canadian attitude and I think I feel a hockey game breaking out...

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* Not to be confused with "Canadiana"
** Pronounced "oot". Canadians in general do talk funny. I talked to one fellow who worked in chicken processing. (Long "O" like "tennis pro".) He talked about whole chickens and the "roosters", and I couldn't for the life of me think of anyone preferring roosters over a nice, plump juicy hen, when I finally realized he was saying "roasters". When you say it in Canadian, it comes out (oot) "rooster".
See the things you learn here??

The other Edmonton Diaries can be found here.

Are You Happy With The Price You Pay at the Pump?

Then, thank a Democrat! I know that sounds kind of like a partisan shot, but really! Remember the bilge and blather that Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts have been pumping for years? Gasoline was $2.32/ gallon the day before Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House. She said that the price of gas was too high, and the Democrats were going to change that!

Millions were invested in "green" energy, billions were funneled to ethanol subsidies, tax breaks were taken away from oil companies, all of which were calculated by the Democrats to "help our economy", increase national security, and drive gas prices down. How successful have they been so far?

And the reasons they gave for the "high" gas price of $2.32 (and rising)? One of them that you just don't hear much any more, (wonder why?) is that the President (Bush) was "too cozy" with the oil companies. Remember that one? Well, for more than two years we have had a president who is definitely not "cozy" with big oil companies. (At least, not the ones in this country. Brazil is another story!). If the Democrats weren't totally delusional or lying to us, getting rid of that "cozy" relationship should have, according to them, caused gas prices to go down. How's that working out for them? For you? For the country?

They say the classic sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and looking for different results. How much longer are we going to leave energy policy in the hands of those who cannot even properly identify the problem much less offer a sane or rational solution?

A couple of Golden Oldies From Nancy Pelosi and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight:



2007


2008