Crimea River

Hi All!

I was vaguely aware that our Land of 10,000 Liberals had a law that sets a minimum gasoline price. Hadn't thought much about it until reading today of an upstart station that was selling gas for, heaven forfend, $2.00/gallon. The other dealers in the area were up in arms and after the excrement was drawn into the rotating blades, the chastened dealer raised his price to $2.10/gallon.

Ah, but this was not enough. The poor station owners who are being forced at gunpoint to sell gas for $2.19 to $2.35 (as of yesterday) poured out their pain and agony to the newspaper, complaining that they will be driven out of business. Like fun they will. One little station in a town that has seemingly thousands is not gonna bring the retail gasoline industry to its knees.

Not only is this station a giant burr in the saddle, it's apparently owned by some shady "Religious Group!"

The very horror!

I suspect that the force of anti-free-market law will win and these upstarts will be squashed with dire and expensive repercussions.

Now I guess I might be falling into a trap by wondering how far Sam Walton would have gone had he not built his business by selling for less than his competitors. My Darn Foolish Liberal friends will say, "Aha! That's just the point! If Arkansas had had a similar law for General Stores, good old Ma and Pa on Main Street would still be in business."

Wouldn't that be just peachy. It's not to late for some wingnut in the Senate to introduce a non-starter bill to spread the scope of the law to mass merchandisers. Then Ma and Pa blow the whistle on Holiday who could go after Target who would set their lawyers on Wal*Mart.

Sorry. Adam Smith economists don't call it Market Rationalization for nothing. And it's a good thing, if you axe me! Would that those who are always carping about not legislating morality would see that you can't legislate Econ 101, at least in the long run. It don't work, folks.

Cheers!