Gas Prices

[skhara]

Nope, I don't. I never addressed any of the issues you raised, because my statement wasn't intended to go into the effectiveness of price gouging in the marketplace, or price controls in general. I was just pointing out that not all gas stations are raising prices because of increased demand, and the result of them paying a higher price/gallon.

I saw jumps from under 3 bucks to 3.19 to 3.40 to back down to 3 bucks, I have a hard time believing that this was due to demand drops and spikes.

[Anonymouse]

Nope, I don't. I never addressed any of the issues you raised, because my statement wasn't intended to go into the effectiveness of price gouging in the marketplace, or price controls in general. I was just pointing out that not all gas stations are raising prices because of increased demand, and the result of them paying a higher price/gallon.

I just reworded my statement several times, and you made a couple of assumtions about what I understand and what I don't.

But, you like to have discussions, and that's cool, except...hal chka on my part. Do I believe price controls are bad? Yes. Do I think a gas station's profit margin should jump from 10% to 30% when a supplier which the gas station doesn't even use increases their price by 5%, due to hurricane-caused damage? No.

I was pointing out and addressing exactly your point about "price gouging", namely that gas stations cannot raise prices any other way aside from market determined supply and demand. There is no such thing as "price gouging". Price gouging doesn't exist in the real world market place. It only exists in the minds of bureaucrats and Washington. In other words, it exists merely on some piece of paper, not on the market. On the market all is determined by supply and demand. Price controls do not in any way stop the real cost of goods from rising. They merely put an illusory chimera on them to make people think that the costs are not rising. So in reality, the only thing it changes is how we pay for them.

Now anyone who looks back to the 1970s oil shock can see that regulations, price controls are a no go. When Nixon imposed price controls to combat the supposed "price gougers", the result was shortages and long lines at the pump. The average laymen do not understand economics which is why they parrot nonsense such as these. The price mechanism is necessary to create the incentive for oil companies to increase the amount of refined gas on the market. Price controls discourage cost-cutting, capital accumulation, and innovation. When under Reagan the controls were abolished, world wide oil production increased and prices fell.