Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But it's not that unusual. Our bloated Government sets price limits quite often. Just ask credit card companies.
Government controls prices, supplies, store hours, profit percentages, products you can sell and many other things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeavingFlorida05
Wow, that's pretty crappy. I guess I won't be moving to Wisconsin any time soon.
Don't move to MD then, same law. The State mandates a minimum price for gas. The law was passed many years ago at the behest of a MD based oil company (I can't remember the name, some other company bought it out a few years ago) to keep operations like Wa-Wa out, or at least control the lower price they could charge.
Works the same for cigarettes here. PA also has a minimum for cigarettes.
I don't know how it could possibly be unfair. A company has the right to sell it's goods for whatever price it deems reasonable. The only exception would be if they decided to start charging blacks more than whites, or something along those lines.
That should be legal as well. Now once the it hits the news that they discriminate, the boycotts will happen. They will eventually lose business and close down. It would be stupid to discriminate but it should be perfectly legal to be stupid.
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, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals are too good: They 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 in late April 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.
(AP) 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, 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.
I do know that gas distributers set up zone pricing where stations in certain parts of town are required to sell their gas at a certain price level determined by the gas companies. Stations in more afluent neighborhoods charge higher then those in poorer sections. I've always though was a form of price discrimination, but if this is being done by the state, that's a whole other case altogether.
So, basically in Wisconsin they have done away with market competition as a downward force on prices and so the price of items can only go up. That's really fantastic.
I don't know how it could possibly be unfair. A company has the right to sell it's goods for whatever price it deems reasonable. The only exception would be if they decided to start charging blacks more than whites, or something along those lines.
The governments justification (which I disagree with for the record), is they have an obligation to protect the little mom/pop gas companies and to keep the gas prices higher to increase tax revenues. How this happens is
1) If you have a mom/pop gas company, and you open up across the street from a Sunoco, then Sunoco could afford to lose money selling gas at a discount until you go out of business. Then they could in theory, increase their prices as high as possible becuase they have no competition.
2) Obviously with a higher gas price, you get higher tax revenues..
Quote:
Originally Posted by GWhopper
I do know that gas distributers set up zone pricing where stations in certain parts of town are required to sell their gas at a certain price level determined by the gas companies. Stations in more afluent neighborhoods charge higher then those in poorer sections. I've always though was a form of price discrimination, but if this is being done by the state, that's a whole other case altogether.
The Supreme Court has actually recently ruled that setting minimum pricing standards by distributors is legal, saying that a lack of price fixing can actually benefit competition.. i.e. not cutting one anothers throat.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
