Gas Price Gouging and The Yellow Vests

We have just witnessed the people of France winning their protest against higher fuel taxes.  The French citizens have proven that protesting in large numbers can be an effective way to stop oligarchy governments.  I guess there comes a time when people get fed up with being cheated or misled.

I live in a smaller community (16,000ish people), where corporate business has all but driven small business into extinction.  This is very true where gas stations are concerned.  Gone are the private, family owned “filling stations” that I knew as a child, replaced by large corporate “convenience stores”.  These stores are about as impersonal as a business can get, you hardly even get thank you from the low paid person behind the counter.

Our smaller town is really a bedroom community for a large city some 60 miles away.  Probably better than 50% of our town’s population commute the 60 miles to the city to reach their employment.  A state highway that connects our town to the large city offers some convenience/gas stores along the way.  So, travelers are never stranded without options.

Recently, I discovered that my little town’s local gas stations were charging up to 40 cents more per gallon than the stations along the state highway. That’s right! I said 40 cents more per gallon!  So, some poor local who forgets to fill up on the way home will at least have to buy enough fuel to get to work at the higher price.  And what about those of us who don’t leave town every day, are we stuck being gouged for the price of a gallon of gas?  The nearest station offering a lower price is 20 miles away!

According to my research, price gouging is the charging of a price that is above what is considered a “fair price” in a disaster area.  So, these corporate bastards are basically able to charge whatever they want for a gallon a gas as unless there is a disaster.  In order to get the lower priced fuel, I must drive up to 20 miles away, to a station that offers it at lower price.  This does not seem like a fair practice to me and certainly lacks any form of goodwill.

Maybe it is time for all my local town citizens to go to the local, corporate owned retail- improvement store and buy some yellow vests and pay a visit these corporate owned gas stations who have little regard for the local community that they screw!  I am just saying.

Talk to Ya Later

The Grumpy Old Fart Customer @2018 All Rights Reserved