Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

[CJY]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070509/ap_on_fe_st/odd_cheap_gas


I would think that a gas station owner could sell gas for a nickel, if they wanted. I guess unless it costs the state tax money. Then it would appear there is a conflict of interests.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

That's to keep the "Amalgamated OIl Trust" from pushing the "Little Guys" out of business.....
In theory anyway......
The truth is they need the little guy....
He allows them to rape your wallet unfettered, because there is a 'competitive market place', therefore not a monopoly......​

 

[Pony]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

Funny that this thread comes up right after I read this article.

Forced Price Increase

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

There once was a day that gas war's were quite common, state sponsored socialism... geesh

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

Oh no......
I'm sure that the lobbyists from the "Amalgamated Oil Trust" had nothing to do with the "Profit Fixing"........
WAKEY! WAKEY!.......
So, by law, you cannot limit how high they can raise the profit margin, but you cannot lower it beyond a certain %.....SWEET!.......​

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

That's to keep the "Amalgamated OIl Trust" from pushing the "Little Guys" out of business.....
In theory anyway......
The truth is they need the little guy....
He allows them to rape your wallet unfettered, because there is a 'competitive market place', therefore not a monopoly......​

Haut, do you have a hobby? I suggest sailing. It might relax you a bit.

Ken

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

That's right, side step the issue with lousy jokes....
The state can set a level on how much profit the U.S. Amalgamated Oil Trust has to make, but try to put a cap to limit how much profit they can make & why the crying start.....
Brings that commercial from WaMu about free checking to mind.......
​

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

I actually think the minimum mark up laws are a somewhat new phenomenon, at least as far as enforcement is concerned. And I have it somewhere in the back of my head that this was a WalMart thing. In certain areas of Wisconsin (along the Mississippi River boarder with Minn.) waivers are given to gas station owners due to the disporportionately high state gas tax vs. Minn. state tax. People were just crossing the bridge and saving a chunk of change. I didn't say they recieved a waiver on the tax, just a waiver to allow them to sell below the minimum markup requirement.

But it is usually used against the Walmarts and Menards to prevent them from using their buying power to eliminate competition.

 

[rwise]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

well here the owners of several diferent gasstaitions have all told me that they cannot lower the price because law states they must mark it up at least 6 cents per gallon.
What realy stricks me funnie is if they are not price fixing then why do all the gas stations in town go up/down in price within an hour of each other and there is never morethan 2 cents dif between them! not price fixing,,,,Rrrrrriiiiiightttt!

 

[burroak]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

That's to keep the "Amalgamated OIl Trust" from pushing the "Little Guys" out of business.....
In theory anyway......
The truth is they need the little guy....
He allows them to rape your wallet unfettered, because there is a 'competitive market place', therefore not a monopoly......​

There is no little guy in the oil business today.

The minimum mark up law was passed to protect the Ma and Pa operations from predatory pricing; Ma and Pa no longer exist, so let the blood flow.

In Wisconsin, the minimum mark up is 9.something%. The retailer is not getting rich. When you take into account the cost of exploration and development of an oil field, extraction, transportation of crude, refining, pipeline construction for finished product delivery, regional blending, EPA compliance and the added state tax of $.45 per gallon, and emerging global economies demanding and getting more of the energy pie, what do you think the price of a gallon of gasoline should be?

Has anyone noticed that when liberals want to tax the hell out of something or just control it, they always start the diatribe with "BIG", as in BIG tobacco, BIG oil, etc.

They never seem to use it as in BIG government and BIG brother.

Liberal - One who knows what is best for you and will spend your money to make sure that you do it.

 

[burroak]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

well here the owners of several diferent gasstaitions have all told me that they cannot lower the price because law states they must mark it up at least 6 cents per gallon.
What realy stricks me funnie is if they are not price fixing then why do all the gas stations in town go up/down in price within an hour of each other and there is never morethan 2 cents dif between them! not price fixing,,,,Rrrrrriiiiiightttt!

If you want to understand the pricing of a retail gallon of gasoline, start with the cost of a barrel of crude oil. No matter which brand you buy, they all pay or receive the same amount for that barrel of oil. No oil producer has the magic formula for processing and delivering its product for the price that you want to pay. What you want to pay is irrelevant; what it costs and a profit (I know, to some profit is a vulgarity; however, it funds our retirements, 401s, etc) sets the price on finished goods.

Since every producer starts at the same price per barrel of crude and has basically the same overhead, a two cent deferential seems logical. In Wisconsin, the retail station can not raise prices more than once in 24 hrs. There are some small nuance moves that can be tinkered with, but they don't have a significant effect on the price and they are not accumlative.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

There are lots of gas stationg near me. Most of them are within 5 or 6 cents of each other. They all keep nicely lit clean stations.

Then there is the most convenient gas station of all, right off the highway. Total dump. Lights out. Greasy pumps. Head looks like a flood of migrants pooped in it without flushing. Gas prices are easily 20 to 25 cents higher than anyone else. The place is always packed.

That's where all the liberals stop for gas and then complain because they want convenience and low price. The place is probably owned by a republican....

 

[stevieray]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

Has anyone noticed that when liberals want to tax the hell out of something or just control it, they always start the diatribe with "BIG", as in BIG tobacco, BIG oil, etc.

They never seem to use it as in BIG government and BIG brother.

That's very profound, baroque...somebody ought to pick it up as a sig!

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

Are you suggesting that liberals only respect "little" entities. It goes a long way to explaining many things.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

"There you go again!".......
Trying to change the subject......
It's not a conservative or liberal thing.....
It's a corporate greed thing, a market manipulation thing, a lack of competition thing.....
Gas at the pump was 2.38 here 4 months ago....
Now, it is 3.43......
Barrel of oil was more than $50 4 months ago.....
Now at $61......
How is the increase justified?
I'll tell you :
SUPPLY MANIPULTION, by the U.S. Amalgamated Oil Trust.....


That's where all the liberals stop for gas and then complain because they want convenience and low price. The place is probably owned by a republican....
& a price gouger!........
​

 

[burroak]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

"There you go again!".......
Trying to change the subject......
It's not a conservative or liberal thing.....
It's a corporate greed thing, a market manipulation thing, a lack of competition thing.....
Gas at the pump was 2.38 here 4 months ago....
Now, it is 3.43......
Barrel of oil was more than $50 4 months ago.....
Now at $61......
How is the increase justified?
I'll tell you :
SUPPLY MANIPULTION, by the U.S. Amalgamated Oil Trust.....


That's where all the liberals stop for gas and then complain because they want convenience and low price. The place is probably owned by a republican....
& a price gouger!........
​

If you want to get off the rant and actually talk about why gasoline is at the price it is, contribute something to the dialog besides "corporate greed, market manipulation, and no competition".

62 % of all gasoline is delivered by the major oil brands to their retail stations which sell on the average of 120,000 gallons of gasoline per month. At a 9% mark up and gas at $3.19 that is just under $500,000 per year. That represents the gross profit. Do some bean counting and decide if the south side of 9% is exorbitant profiteering. What would be a acceptable rate of return in your judgment?

Buy a piece of land, develop it, build a station, comply with the EPA and every other alphabet agency known to man and get in on the raping and looting if you think it's such a money machine.

I don't know you so present company is excluded.

The jingoisms of your post usually come from someone that has never owned a business or ever met a payroll.

If you want to figure out why gas prices are not directly proportional to crude prices, one has to look at the calendar. In my region of the country, we have the government mandated boutique blending. The regs require that the blends have to be reformulated and can not be piggy backed in the pipeline, necessitating a clean sweep. The spring/ summer and fall/winter changeovers are costly. As an aside, the blends do little good. They just add to the cost and to the bureaucracy that control them.

This, as with so many other liberal agendas, is just a stalking horse. Liberals must be the smartest people in the world. They know better how to run businesses, run wars, spur economies with the raising of taxes, provide better health care with government control without any real life experience or information.

By the way, I Googled "U S Amalgamated Oil Trust" and found only three citied instances; and they were on my computer referencing you as the originator. I have no evidence that USAOT actually exists, except in your mind.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

If you want to get off the rant and actually talk about why gasoline is at the price it is, contribute something to the dialog besides "corporate greed, market manipulation, and no competition".

Why not speak the truth?.......​

62 % of all gasoline is delivered by the major oil brands to their retail stations which sell on the average of 120,000 gallons of gasoline per month. At a 9% mark up and gas at $3.19 that is just under $500,000 per year. That represents the gross profit. Do some bean counting and decide if the south side of 9% is exorbitant profiteering. What would be a acceptable rate of return in your judgment?

Who said the south side of 9% is profiteering?
Or the north side?
You're contradicting yourself.....
I'm pointing out that the law GUARANTEES a profit......... ​

Buy a piece of land, develop it, build a station, comply with the EPA and every other alphabet agency known to man and get in on the raping and looting if you think it's such a money machine.

I don't know you so present company is excluded.

The jingoisms of your post usually come from someone that has never owned a business or ever met a payroll.
Wrong & Wrong! On both counts!..........
If you want to figure out why gas prices are not directly proportional to crude prices, one has to look at the calendar. In my region of the country, we have the government mandated boutique blending. The regs require that the blends have to be reformulated and can not be piggy backed in the pipeline, necessitating a clean sweep. The spring/ summer and fall/winter changeovers are costly. As an aside, the blends do little good. They just add to the cost and to the bureaucracy that control them.

Hmmmmm....Yeah, they don't have the foresight to plan ahead for the change over..... ​

This, as with so many other liberal agendas, is just a stalking horse. Liberals must be the smartest people in the world. They know better how to run businesses, run wars, spur economies with the raising of taxes, provide better health care with government control without any real life experience or information.

There you go again, making it a Rehub vs. Dem issue, or Lib vs. cornservative issue.......​

By the way, I Googled "U S Amalgamated Oil Trust" and found only three citied instances; and they were on my computer referencing you as the originator. I have no evidence that USAOT actually exists, except in your mind.

Yep, I made that up!
I'm sure the real name is a closely guarded secret.....
You'll just have to take it on faith whether it exists or not.....
Kinda like the existence of God...... ​

 

[burroak]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

You are God?........Oh, God!

Listen, I've caught your act other places on this forum. You are a liberal gadfly and provocateur. If you really want to be considered seriously in the discussion of this matter, go to www.energy.gov.on.ca and click on Oil and Gas, then Frequently Asked Questions. This will give you a rudimentary education in regards to the pricing of gasoline. It is written from the Canadian perspective; however, it is applicable to the US.

Until then, you will be just a garrulous old dude running loose on a boating forum.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

If you don't like what I say, then don't read it!.......
I'm not denying that there are real costs incurred in the production of gas in the US......
But, USAOT is insuring that their profit margin stays way up there by manipulating supply, when there is no shortage of raw material.....​

 

[RPJS]

Re: Have minimum gas prices always been set by the State?

If you don't like what I say, then don't read it!.......
I'm not denying that there are real costs incurred in the production of gas in the US......
But, USAOT is insuring that their profit margin stays way up there by manipulating supply, when there is no shortage of raw material.....​

And why shouldn't they, it's thier product.
If I had a product I could sell for big bucks by manipulating the supply I would do the same thing.