Gasoline Prices

Of course you may have noticed the growing gas prices. I have too. They have decided that hurricane Katrina is to blame. But I have two questions. #1 How much of our gasoline is refined in Louisiana? #2 Do you realize how most gas stations price gasoline? I worked at a gas station before. We were always the cheapest in town. It lends me to consider who is exactly affected by the gas prices. So let me begin my story here.

There have already been reports about gas gouging. The crafty gas station agents took advantage of a situation that gave them the excuse they needed BEFORE the hurricane even hit. There were reports that gas prices may rise due to the impending storm down south. Is that a free ticket or what? In two years the price of gas went from $1.60 in my area to $2.50. In one day our price went from $2.50 to $3.00 and the next day the price rose another 40 to 50 cents.

One day long ago, I worked overnights at a 24 hour gas station. It was the small town of Las Cruces, NM. Downtown consisted of a courthouse, fire station, and a movie theatre with a one way street circling counter-clockwise around it. At the time gas prices hovered around a dollar. We sold cigarettes for $1.29 a pack for premium brands. Generics and half-generics were going for $0.79 to $0.99. Every morning after my shift I was required to count the thousands of packs of cigarettes we had on hand. That required being in the office where the cartons were stored, and where the manager/owner of the station began his day. He began his day deciding what to charge for gasoline.

We always undercut the competition. The gas station across the street was about five cents higher than us most times. They were a Diamond Shamrock station, who had the luxury of plenty of credit card customers who would choose them for the sake of charging their gas for the day. One morning, our manager Carl-an old coot with a cranky streak like no other- was talking to his assistant. He said, "Drive around town and check the gas prices. Find the lowest price...then set our marquee at one cent lower." WAIT! Did he just say that?!?! I thought gas prices depended on checking invoices and determining the cost compared to overhead and profit margins...Right? Is this arbitrary method the reason for our gas prices? In a society where it is virtually impossible to have a job without using gasoline to get to and from work, how can we allow ourself to be gouged on the lifeblood of industry and commerce?

If you want to uphold this system, you must MUST consider the interests of all people involved. IF you do that, you will realize that there is no way for all of us to succeed. You are in competition with everyone...and the only winners are the small percentage of rich that feed off the masses. Here here to the privilege to do work for the lazy people.