Some tried to take advantage of tragic situation

September 8, 2005

Last week, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue called for legislators to return to Atlanta after the Labor Day holiday for a special session regarding gas prices. He was responding not just to fears of dwindling supplies but consumer anger at rising costs.

The next day, Mr. Perdue signed an executive order that called for official action against gas stations if owners can’t defend their prices and have taken advantage of consumers. As we all remember, last week gasoline prices started climbing and easily exceeded $3 a gallon by Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, one Upstate station had $3.89 per gallon posted for 93 octane. Even fearing a shortage, none seemed to be availing themselves of the fuel at that price.

Another was noted at $3.59, while most were $3.39 per gallon for the top grade. Even motorists who don’t normally use the highest octane may have been forced to buy it if they got there behind the rush that took the lower-priced fuel.

One Atlanta-area station owner, who had pushed his prices to more than $6 a gallon, told CNN reporters he did so to "discourage customers" and keep crowds from forming at the pumps.

No worry there. And the reporter gave the distinct impression he didn’t quite buy the guy’s story. The highest reported price in the Atlanta area was $5.87 — for regular. The sad truth is some consumers may have taken that station owner up on his price out of fear it was, in desert lore, "the last stop."

Mr. Perdue also won the favor of the people of Georgia (and folks in Alabama and South Carolina whose homes are near the state line) when he ordered a temporary moratorium on state gas taxes. Through September, Georgia’s per gallon 7.5 cents excise tax and 4 cent sales tax are off the books. This puts around 15 cents per gallon back in consumers’ pockets.

South Carolina’s Gov. Mark Sanford, says The Associated Press report, didn’t follow suit, saying he "wanted to avoid a knee-jerk reaction" to higher gas prices. We can agree that anything that might even temporarily drain or put a strain on state coffers while we fill up should be carefully considered and not an emotional response. But there are some among us who have found that they are working just to put gas in the car to get to work. Many were already finding it difficult to keep up with the 40 percent increase during the past year reported by Energy Department figures. A short-term price break might be just enough to get them through until the market stabilizes.

And when might that be?

Some analysts are saying it could be months. The latest reports are more optimistic, but one thing is for certain: No matter how long these prices last, we’ve got to change our habits unless we want to do permanent damage to our wallets. The oil companies aren’t going to be decreasing profits margins anytime soon. And when supply and demand are so grossly out of proportion, "what the market will bear" becomes more than some employees are capable of bearing. It’s tough to pay $3 a gallon to get to a $7-an-hour job.

With some system budgets already blown by higher-than-expected fuel costs even before Katrina’s landing, the state Education Department was warning that its fleet of 5,000 buses only had enough fuel to operate through today. On Wednesday, it announced that a supplier had been located and the buses will continue to roll. And by Thursday morning, unleaded regular was below $3 in most locations.

But if you think the price of gas is bad, wait until winter, when heating costs will likely rise as the temperatures drop. What we hope will be a temporary surge in gas prices isn’t the worst we could be facing. But businesses should not take advantage of consumers.

It’s not just wrong; it’s bad business.

Copyright 2005, Anderson Independent Mail. All Rights Reserved.