From the Tribune:
SPRINGFIELD -- Gas stations with old-fashioned mechanical pumps encountered an unusual problem this week when prices climbed above $3.
The numbers on their pumps don't go over $2.99.
"When the pumps were made, no one anticipated that prices would go this high," said Bill Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association. "But holy moly . . . it turns out to be a problem of great magnitude."
As a matter of fact, as many as 1,000 stations in rural communities around Illinois still use the vintage pumps. Those manufactured in the 1980s and even some from the early 1990s are mechanical rather than electronic, and their makers didn't think it was necessary to install numbers that high.
State regulators helped solve the immediate problem on Friday by telling stations with the older pumps they can post prices by the half-gallon rather than by the full gallon. Usually, the rules require that postings reflect the per-gallon price.
"The alternative would be to shut them down," said Chris Herbert, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which regulates gas pumps in the state. "But we don't want to disrupt the availability of fuel for consumers."
State officials told station owners to update their pumps.
Personally I think there's a special place in hell for price gougers--and make no mistake, that's what's happening here as well. People describe New Orleans as looking "like a war zone"--well, if you ask me, these gas-station owners and hotel operators who are jacking up their prices in the wake of the hurricane are nothing better than war profiteers. THOSE are the ones who need to be on the other end of the "shoot to kill" strategy, in my opinion.
What I want to know is why can't we get our oil from the Alaskan Pipeline? Don't tell me that the Canadian Pipeline is the only one we can get it from on this side of the country.
ReplyDeleteAnd the stations overcharging people should be shut down for good.