Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerplunk
One of the problems I have is that there really no competition in the market. If I go to buy clothing and one place sells it for too much, I can go somewhere else. Stations in Calgary have a wonderful habit of all being the same, forcing the customer to pay a single price.
The other thing is that, since oil prices are world-wide we should be able to expect the goods being produced from it to follow a somewhat similar pricing curve. But, when the price of oil goes down the companies are using goods "in the pipe", but are quick to jack up the costs when the oil price inflates.
At what point does a luxury item start to become less of a luxury and more of a necessity? I need a car, one way or the other, to get to work. Society in general, for good of bad, rely on the goods produced from oil. Until the "other options" you mention become viable solutions, or the gas companies float the prices closer to what is expected based on oil prices, I will continue complaining about it.
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I do see your point about the perception of a silent cartel (i.e. lack of open competition), I am likely to believe what cowboy89 said about it being about controlling product availability and protecting company reputation for being reliable. BBS has a great point, too.
I fully disagree that you NEED to drive to get to work. That is 100% a direct consequnce of your own choices.
I am perfectly happy walking into work each day and spending less than $80/month on gas. It has nothing to do with the viablity of green technology, or floating gas prices closer to what is expected based on oil prices, and has everything to do with my lifestyle choices.
And really, if you were selling gas, wouldn't you get as much profit as you could, or would you be the saviour of the masses and deliver your product
at a more consistent and reasonable profit margin? Give me a break. That sort of action would be grossly irresponsible for a public corporation and inhumanly generous for a private owner to undertake.
Think beyond your own wallet for a change, Mr. Consumer.