WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
CURRENT EVENTSI RAN THIS THROUGH SNOPES AND DIDN'T GET ANY HITS.
ANYBODY ELSE HEARD THIS YET?
Gas station owner told to raise prices
2 hours, 7 minutes ago
MERRILL, Wis. - A service station that offered discounted gas to senior citizens and people supporting youth sports has been ordered by the state to raise its prices.
Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon.
But the state Department of Agriculture <http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Department+of+Agriculture>, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals violate Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price.
Bhandari said he received a letter from the state auditor last month saying the state would sue him if he did not raise his prices. The state could penalize him for each discounted gallon he sold, with the fine determined by a judge.
Bhandari, who bought the station a year ago, said he worries customers will think he stopped the discounts because he wants to make more money. About 10 percent of his customers had used the discount cards.
Dale Van Camp said he bought a $50 card to support the local youth hockey program. It would have saved him about $100 per year on gas, he said.
Isn't this a form of price fixing? How can we support a free market and free enterprise if what you sell has to be X price?
And we wonder why oil companies are reporting record breaking profits.
Who do we contact about this to get it fixed?
Link below is to an FTC opinion from 2003 addressing the specific state statute in question, along with a short explanation of why it was adopted, and why, in the opinion of the FTC, it (the Act) is no longer needed.
http://www.ftc.gov/be/v030015.shtm
Bush, Cheney and friends just hate those big money oil boys.
Face it, if you try to help people, you get nailed for whatever can be dreamed up.
Every good deed will be punished.
The Wisconsin statute was enacted in 1939; the other states identified enacted their statutes in the 1930s as well.
And doesnt Kansas essentially price fix on alcohol? Not the three.two variety, but real booze?
Thank the distributor lobby. The same ones that wont allow wine and six percent beer to be sold in groceries and convenience stores. Or restaurants without a full liquor license. In Texas, you can see both wine and six beer on a beer license. Anything up to twelve percent. And near beer is illegal.
But when I drive by the gas station and hear how tough it is for many to just be able to drive to work, I just get grumbly. :)
The rape of America continues.
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