Price Gouging

We have talked about gas prices before. Speculators have caused prices to raise, so they can make more money at the expense of consumers. It was kind of funny to me that, shortly after I wrote about speculators, the news started talking about these people. They were called out, and the price started to go down. If you threaten someone with a lawsuit, they will usually blink. Now, the gas prices are going up again because of Hurricane Ike. Forget accessing damage. Let's raise the prices before the storm hits. Let's speculate how much damage there will be. Are these people psychics? Can they tell me who my love will be? Can they tell me when I will get a good job? Can they tell me who will win "Big Brother"? Can they tell me who will win the Presidential election? They seem to be really good at predicting what else will happen. Yesterday, I had to pay $4.09 for a gallon of regular gas. The day before, it was $3.49. People went crazy. I heard of $5.00 a gallon. Just an excuse to make some more money. Oh, I know. The gas station operators were saying that the wholesale price caused them for just breaking even. If the wholesale price was that much, why in the world were they losing so much money before? The Attorney General said anyone caught price gouging would be prosecuted. How can you prove anything like that? What is the criteria? I remember that with Hurricane Hugo, people were charging $20 for a bag of ice. That was price gouging. But, an operator is going to say they are just making a dime for a gallon, then is that price gouging? I think it is, if they raised the price so quickly, and were continuing to raise it over the course of the day. And, think about this. There are other refineries in this country besides the Gulf Coast. We import fuel from other countries. Why are the prices rising from those areas? Because people are taking advantage of others. President Bush says he is concerned. But guess what? He is an oilman. So, he is making money too at the expense of others. We have to all take a deep breath. Pray for the folks in Texas. Meanwhile, find me one of those psychics. I need to put money down on a football game this weekend, and the power ball lottery drawing is tonight.