THSCC Forums

The price that they had before the shortage announced was fair enough for them to sell it at that. Why all of a sudden is it not fair now?

When they can supply gas, we allow the supply and demand system to work. If the prices go up because there is only one quarter the gas available, that is how the system is supposed to work.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

I don't think Easley nor the state government could do any thing other than asking people to conserve, like he did in yesterday's press release. They do not have the power to set prices.

If you set the price lower than what the station(s) paid for it, they will shut down the pumps. One report states that some stations are shutting down pumps cause they can not afford the current price and are willing to wait it out. If you can get a tanker full at $3 a gallon and then can only sell it for $2.99 over the course of the next week...you can lose a lot of money. And these mom and pop stations do not run on big margains.

See, setting a price is not easy. You can tell the station what number to post, but you can not control the price downstream. Only the federal government can control interstate commerce. Would you buy a $3 product when you can only sell it for $2.50?

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

FWIW, the highest price I've seen in Hillsborough is 3.79 for regular. The other stations range from $3.09 to $3.19.

Anonymous Government Flunkie

Am, I confused, or did you just contradict yourself in the same post???

Yup, you are confused. When there was no renewable supply and there was no known schedule for resupply, there was a external influence that changed the system. If there is a supply, even if it is smaller than before, then the market system can work. However, if a hurricane causes an artificial scarcity on a product and destoys the possibility for replenishment in the short term, there is not reason that the temporary finite supply shoule be allowed to have a large economic impact. That makes no sense. Why allow a small supply blip to exert influence on multiple sectors of the economy. Now, as Jim pointed out, they may not have been able to do anything. However, I still believe that the impending calamity announcement made more than 48 hours after a regular guy like me had info that this was more likely than not to be a problem is just pathetic.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

So the solution is careful government monitoring of every situation, and when the butterfly took off from the coast of Africa starting up this hurricane, the governor should have have had his Petroleum Task Force Delta at the ready to smack down any attempted price adjustment according to the supply that may or may not be at the Sheetz in Wilmington. Gotcha.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Jim, I said that as soon as the gas supply returned, the price freeze would be lifted. If you get new gas, you are back on the usual system. The price freeze is just a way to mitigate the downstream effects of a temporary supply interruption. This is not a long term plan, not have I ever contended it was. Furthermore, this all could have been avoided if the govenor had actually shown a little foresight and said something earlier. I think that if on Monday people had been told that there was plenty of gas for the next few days, but conservation efforts would have to be put in place because the effects of the hurricane could not be determined, there would have been a lot less of a panic reaction, and in fact, even in my view, no need for a price freeze.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

Yup. Perfect synopsis. While he is at it, I think he should invent an alternate fuel source so this is all a moot point.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

I think that Mr. T has a better chance discovering that he has earned the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on the back porch of my house eating ribs and drinking a 40 than that ever happening.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

The government doing the right thing in any situation seems to have worse odds than that. This whole situation is pretty disheartening, IMO.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

The price at the pump is controlled by the station owner.
The owner's price is controlled by the distributor.
The distributor's price is set by the terminal operator.
The terminal's price is set by the refinery.

So...

With the huge stockpiles of crude, and refined gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc. at the tank farms near the refineries, which were contracted for, purchased and stored MONTHS AGO, why, all of a sudden, does this merchandise miraculously gain 50% or more in value overnight?

Supply vs. demand controls the market price on most commodities, but to brazenly jack up the price of what really is amounts to a public necessity in order to create exhorbitant profits at the expense of the general public is criminal. Remember the Enron electricity gambit in California?

Of course, with all the additional money available to the politicians, we shouldn't expect ol' Dubya's crowd to do anything but wring their hands and claim there's nothing they can do.

Your government hard at work.

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Brad

Quiet. You cannot suggest that the government should ever intervene in the economy on behalf of the public good. The Club UnAmerican Activities Committee will come and get you! You have Red in your avatar, so they are already watching you!

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

At least they have the time to think about helping the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi. If those folks are lucky, the government will finish thinking soon and start acting. We're a week into this deal, and just now we're starting to see a mobilization of efforts?

This was a very forseeable catastrophy (New Orleans), yet, it's been public policy for quite some time to turn a blind eye.

Thank goodness we have all those spare National Guard troops guarding the nation of Iraq... Thank God hindsight is 20/20 or else we'd be blind all the time!

Scott

Why is this funny to me?

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Not spectacular just decent.
I'm not sure what I'm driving.
Maybe an ITR in DS.
Or half-assed STX prepped 330.

indeed Scott, i was just saying the same thing this evening. isn't it odd the Gaurd has not been more prominent in the relief effort. then it occurred to me too, we don't have a gaurd anymore. or at least not at home. i was listening to msnbc on the radio this evening and it is unbelievable what is occuring in new orleans. but then maybe that is just the liberal media trashing the administration again.