[MrTransplant]

I guess this is the only real forum that Omaha has to express opinions. I recently submitted a letter to Omaha World Herald's Public Pulse, concerning gas prices. They totally butchered it to the point where I'm surprised they didn't sign my name as "My Butt Itches, Omaha". Below is what I sent vs. what they printed.

Here is a copy of the letter that I sent:

I've noticed a repeating pattern in gas prices within the Omaha metro area. The price will suddenly spike ten to fifteen cents, and then drop a penny or two every other day for a couple of weeks. This pattern has repeated itself for months. "Volatility in the wholesale gasoline market" was the excuse given by a Bucky's representative. How does volatility follow such a predictable pattern? I've contacted state representatives including the governor's office, and have never received a response (with the exception of Senator Hagel's office, who's staff member lives in D.C. and knows nothing about this area - but showed some concern when I mentioned the topic of the forthcoming Nebraska bridge to nowhere, which will benefit... at least 4 people). I know this "trend" doesn't happen in other parts of the country recently visited. Am I the only one who notices that the totally predictable nature of volatile wholesale gas prices exists only in Omaha? Are we being gouged? If so, why are our elected leaders not only doing absolutely nothing about it but are more than likely going to increase taxes for "road improvements". I'm assuming they don't mean gold-plated guardrails on the bridge to nowhere.

Here is what the Omaha World Herald printed:

I've noticed a repeating pattern in gasoline prices within the Omaha metropolitan area. The price suddenly will spike 10 to 15 cents then drop a penny or two every other day for a couple of weeks. I have seen this pattern repeated for months.

I didn't see this trend in other parts of the country I recently visited. Am I the only one who notices that the totally predictable nature of wholesale gas prices exists only in Omaha?

Are we being gouged? If so, why don't our elected leaders appear to be doing anything about it? They seem more likely to increase taxes for road improvements.

---

While my point was directed towards an ongoing game in gas pricing, that is not reflective of wholesale gas prices in any way, the Omaha World Herald chose to make it sound like I was shocked that gas prices ever go up. The original letter was not too long (200 words, per their criteria). When I called them to express my utter disgust, I spoke to Chris Olsen who defended their actions by stating they couldn't verify my "facts". They could've easily contacted Bucky's (or any other owner of multiple stations) if they were interested. I did and I'm not a reporter. I also asked him if he noticed what was going on around him concerning gas prices. He responded he "couldn't verify that". Regardless, it was an opinion piece, they don't have to verify anything outside of the fact that it was my opinion.

Now I understand why the majority of people no longer get their news from the newspaper, and subscriptions are declining. Good job World Herald.

[rpontillo]

I found your post very interesting..and I am really not all that surprised that OWH butchered your piece..because of the fact you compared Omaha to other places in the country you lived. this is the reason why they altered your write up. OWH does not like to be compared to other cities..especially if your opinion is some how negative or slanted to this awesomely great city of OWH...their a little proud down there.

[mattpoulsen]

There isn't gouging going on. That's probably why the OMH edited your submission, so heavily. moderator cut A few months of allegedly predictable patterns are nothing of interest. First, they aren't really predictable...you just think they are. Predictable means you know what they are going to do. It doesn't mean that you recognize a pattern in historical data. The second they don't follow this pattern they are no longer following your "prediction" and you lose interest. Plus, your evidence for Omaha and out-of-state gas sources is completely and totally anecdotal.

moderator cut Basically, your accusations lacked evidence and lines of rational argument and that's why the OWH cut much of it.

[MrTransplant]

The brevity of the submittals require an anecdotal approach, it's an opinion. You make a lot of assumptions. What would you say if I revealed that we have over 13 months of daily data, including multiple stations (in more cities than Omaha), the high/low/median market price of wholesale gas, etc.? Could that be represented in a public op-ed piece in 200 words or less? No. Purchasing doesn't occur at the top of any day's represented wholesale costs, but the owners will price that way with an additional buffer. If a station increases it's prices, it's always by 10+ cents. With one exception over the past 12 months, it's never done that on the decrease. Wholesale gas pricing does not follow the same pattern. Where Omaha stands in comparison to the national average has changed over the last 12 months, as well. Not in the consumer's favor.

The Public Pulse prints public opinions, this was not presented as anything otherwise. If the paper or any of it's fans wants to pretend that it's a conspiracy theorist ranting, they can enjoy their own naivete. There are facts to back it up. You may not care, you may mock others who do, but it doesn't change the facts that can not only been observed when one chooses to actually do so, but have been tracked by many (including what you choose to refer to as "agencies").

In the interest of brevity, I won't expound ad nauseum. I often assume that the public has an intelligence level and a talent for observation that they may not come close to in reality.

Given your response, Moderator cut: personal/off topic

In the meantime, I'll restrain myself from semi-whimsical op-eds to papers who clearly, along with their readers, do not have the capacity to understand.

[kosnebbear]

mattpoulsen, MrTransplant was only expressing his opinion and I did not think that he needed to also point out his facts with his own personal opinion. For me I see where the big oil companies every year will take up the price for a gallon of gas as high as they can to see at what level thay can get to before the consumer, us, begin getting upset. Besides who controls how much is pumped out of the ground, the big oil companies. So they control the market. Who watches over them, the federal government, we all can really trust the federal government can't we. Who runs the federal government, our elected politicians, who do they really work for, and it sure as hell is not us the citizens, but the ones with money to buy them. It does not matter who they are Republican or Democrat they all are for sale to the highest bidder and you and I are not even close to coming close to making a bid for their service. We have the technology to go to the moon and back, yet they tell you that they can't make a vehicle that gets say 40 to 50 miles per gallon. Who is stopping this from happening, big oil, as they want you to buy as much gas as you can and as offen as you can. This is why we have vehicles that get less than 25 miles per gallon. They have the knowledge to make vehicles that can get twice the miles per gallon, which would lower our need for more gas, but big oil is stopping this from taking place as this would cut into their profit margin. Let me see if I remember the last quarter of just this year Exon Mobile had a profit margin of over 9 billion dollars this year. Sounds like they are doing just fine and they have the money to buy all of the politicans in Washington DC and key elected politicans in state governments as well. Sorry but this is what I see and as for posting where I get my facts I only have what I have seen over the years taking place.

[mattpoulsen]

After thinking about my original response to your op-ed piece I will have to make a change in my position. I probably agree that your op-ed shouldn't have been published in an edited version. I understand that this can seriously misrepresent the intent of the author's submittal. However, with that rule in mind, then the editor would have had to completely nix the said article.

Opinion articles usually concern themselves with things that are opinion based in nature...religion, politics, societal concerns, and etc. Your original submission was suggestively quantitative in nature. It suggested that data exists that would lead everyone to the conclusion that you came to. However, you quote no source, other than the mysterious "Bucky's" employee. Furthermore, the purported data that you gathered was not capable of being fact checked. The editor had no choice but to cut those sections out of your article. However, I agree that the proper course of action should have been not to publish the article at all.

[mani zani]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

There isn't gouging going on. That's probably why the OMH edited your submission, so heavily. moderator cut A few months of allegedly predictable patterns are nothing of interest. First, they aren't really predictable...you just think they are. Predictable means you know what they are going to do. It doesn't mean that you recognize a pattern in historical data. The second they don't follow this pattern they are no longer following your "prediction" and you lose interest. Plus, your evidence for Omaha and out-of-state gas sources is completely and totally anecdotal.

moderator cut Basically, your accusations lacked evidence and lines of rational argument and that's why the OWH cut much of it.

Budy, giving you the benefit of doubt I should say you are not paying attention. Price gouging/fixing is so obvious in Omaha (and many other places same size or smaller than Omaha) that you do not need to keep statistics. Next time you see same gas price in 3-4 gas stations go to
gasbuddy.com and you see almost all of the gas stations have the same price. Pattern is exactly as the first guy mentioned jump 10-15 cents and after several days drop by 2-3 cents.

I can give you more specific information: BP and Philips gas stations are the the 2 that gas stations the try to hold to the "set" price.

The worst thing that we as users can do is to try to appologize for big companies or buy thier BS.

[kosnebbear]

It is even more interesting is that this last gas jump got Nebraska to the top of the highest price for gas in the country. When we started to question what was going, this same gas dropped 30 cents in areas of Lincoln overnight. Wonder what happened to the gas in the ground overnight did it lose it's value. Wake up the gas companies are fixing the price and our elected leaders know what is going on as they are getting money in their "war chests" from these same oil companies for the next election to keep quiet and say what these oil companies want them to tell us that there is not price fixing going on. It is all about money and we are the ones giving the money to them all.

[mattpoulsen]

Not to start this debate back up, but high prices at the pump doesn't mean there is gouging going on. Plus, people tend to still have the idea that the amount of oil in the ground is the deciding factor in the current market price for fuel....well, its not. Refinery capacity is the number one factor!! Refineries are stretched to the limit and any small disruption in their capacity results in fluctuations in the market dictated fuel prices. My whole point with my original response is that it is far far more complicated then simply looking at the current price of gas over a period of time. The only thing you learn from that is that gas prices are high and are getting higher...you don't learn whether or not that rise is justifiable.

The whole thread reminds me of a conspiracy trumped up by my grandpa.

[Katiana]

The whole thread reminds me of a conspiracy trumped up by my grandpa.
LOL! He must be related to my dad!

Back to the very original meaning of this thread, I, too, think the OWH is a rag, for many reasons. Although my DH was an OWH carrier for many years.