A Herd Mentality

Gas on St. Simons Island has always been ten or twenty cents more expensive than the same product purchased eight miles away on the mainland. Island residents like us always plan our trips so we can take advantage of the savings.

Back in July when gas prices on the mainland fell down to below $2.40 a gallon I drove my Suburban across the causeway and pumped it slap damn overflowing full of gas. Over eighty dollars worth in the form of about 35 gallons (it holds 42 gallons) of regular unleaded. I still have probably 35 gallons worth in the tank because we drive Pat’s Mustang most of the time unless we’re hauling lumber or furniture and the Mustang‘s 18 MPG beats the heck out of the 9 MPG I‘ve been getting over the past year or so.

Since I’ve been recently living in a hospital room and on my mom’s sofa, I haven’t bought much gasoline in the past month. Maybe that is why I find it easy to want to poke fun at people in Atlanta and other parts of the country that are running around screaming about the price of gasoline and more recently--

GASOLINE AVAILABILITY. But hold the presses--the plague is spreading!

My mom just got home from shopping and had to go to two different gas stations to fill the tank on her car up. One place she went here in Elba was limiting people to $15 worth and the second in another nearby town had a $20 limit. Remember that $20 worth at $3 per gallon is only a little over 6-½ gallons--60 miles worth of driving in my Suburban.

The good news is that the present prices are as predictable as is the current short term shortages are. The bad news is that consumers are exasperating the situation by running out filling up every car, boat, lawnmower, and gas can in anticipation of higher prices and in the process--artificially forcing demand up and thereby increasing prices and CREATING many of the shortages being experienced on a local basis.

Now enter the politicians--those miserable panderers to the stupid low brow mentality and lowest common denominators in human nature--envy and greed. Most politicians aren’t really stupid--they just let their desire to stay in office and get re-elected override their own education and knowledge of free market economics.

The politicians can’t resist jumping in front of any available microphone or TV camera and uttering the words--PRICE GOUGING and the masses bow down at their feet and run to the polls to voice their approval.

I’m sorry, but a station owner or manager has the absolute right to raise their gas prices as much as they damn well please and it’s neither your nor my nor the government’s business how the numbers are determined.

Are you mad at me now, or just think that I’m crazy or stupid?

Stay tuned and read my next couple of postings and see if you still think the same way...