No, I'm not going to rail on him for not doing enough to solve the gas supply issues in Atlanta, but I am going to make fun of him for two different thoughts he has voiced that are at opposite ends of the reality spectrum...
The first is that he instituted an emergency order, which brings "anti-gouging" laws into effect... basically, it is a type of governmental price control that prevents gas station owners from charging much more for the gas during the shortage than they did before the shortage.
And now he is calling on the federal government to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve because supply and demand are out of whack. He specifically said that the market wasn't solving the problem...
Ya think?
Seriously, when you institute price controls, you are specifically STOPPING the market from correcting the supply/demand imbalance... and what you end up with are lines where there is gas and stations running out. We aren't talking about rocket science here... we are talking about Econ 101.
And now, we have a situation where the delivery levels are up to almost pre-hurricane levels... and people are following tanker trucks in order to top off when they have 3/4 tank. Demand is actually up because people are spooked.
To put this simply, had "anti-gouging" laws NOT been put in place, the price would have jumped and people would have decided that they really didn't want to stockpile gas at home in the aquarium. Demand would have dropped. Gasoline suppliers would have rushed extra fuel to the area because there would have been more money available. Supply would have increased.
Balance would have been restored... probably in less than half of the time. And imagine if this were a long term problem instead of something only lasting a couple of weeks? Think of odd/even gas rationing. That would almost guarantee that every car in Atlanta would be ina gas station every other day... need it or not.
So, Sonny...
Don't create a supply/demand imbalance and then whine about the supply/demand imbalance...
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I'd love to hear from you...
What a wonderfully realistic and insightful post. Let's elect Lane Bailey as the politician that has reasoning skills and common sense.
I can see where you are coming from , but I am not sure if I completely agree.
I'd make a serious comment, but really, I'm still laughing at the "...stockpile gas at home in the aquarium..." comment. There would be some folks caught running on fumes and forced to pay $9/gallon for gas, but for the most part, as you say, the market would correct itself in probably half the time.
lane - Sonny actually asked the government to release oil from the reserves. Do you guys have a spare refinery I can use. Does the EPA allow you to use the gas that's created by this refinery. THat's the real problem here, The EPA had requirements for a special blend of gas that was only being refined in Houston. We know that anything coming out of Houston is a problem.
The EPA needs to be a little more proactive about this in the future, and I'm sure they will be.
Lane
I have to admit that is a real paradox.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Vickie - Let's not. The skeletons in my closet like the dark.
Dinah - I'd love to know more.
Jesse - There would be people that would be caught out. But, if you didn't have access to gas, could you figure something out? And if you REALLY needed, would you pay $10/gallon? And if you had to pay $10/gallon, would you get any more than you really need?
Larry - The EPA did grant the formulation waiver... but without the pricing, I don't know that it is worth it to get the gas from elsewhere and ship it in.
Tom - I love those kinds of things... most people won't even notice.
LArry, I take offense to that anything coming out of Houston is a problem comment. I don't think that is called for.
Lane, I have seen people with 20 gas cans and every other jug they can find filling them up and it is so funny. The gas station attendant was arguing with one the other day.
They are going to end up with a garage up in flames from storing all of it!!
I am seeing behavior that is reminding me of bomb shelter behavior.
Here in my area I think it is post hurricane stress disorder. People buying tons of canned goods preparing for the next hurricane so they are not caught with their pants down again.
I hope it dies down soon.
Cheri - You can't buy a gas can at WalMart...