Georgia governor plans to lift state gas tax for rest of the month

AP Wires | 9-2-2005 | AP Wire

[inquest]

Not if the price is determined by scarcity. Eliminating the tax would only increase the amount that the company keeps as profit. When there's only so much available supply, there's a certain minimum price that goes along with that. Reducing any of the associated costs of production, delivery, and overhead (including taxes) will not reduce prices below that minimum until the scarcity is addressed.

[beaureguard]

Maybe this'll help your cynicism just a little :-)

I live in Covington. Last night, gas at the Raceway was 3.15 for regular. Went back this am to fill up, and they had dropped price to 2.99.

Just one station, I know, but at least somebody apparently passed the savings on.

Still cost me $52 to fill up a little Ranger though. :-(

[kenth]

The prices hurt, but the real problem is supply. Cutting a few cents helps psychologically, but any significant cut in price just compounds the real problem. Unless people control their consumption as the President requested, the price will jump back up due to the demand.

[kenth]

The biggest impact from the government getting out of the equation is not removing taxes, not opening up the SPR, but the suspension of the multitude of blends of gasoline that need to be created.

[Reagan Disciple]

I would think you would get immediate calls for price gauging if they did.

[okstate]

"I would think you would get immediate calls for price gauging if they did."

I agree. But I think there's quite a bit of price gouging going on anyway about which nothing is ever really done.

[Reagan Disciple]

I'm not so sure about that.

Gasoline is a commodity that moves just like others. True that $3-4 per gallon is high in a historical context but the sharp move ups at the pump have been the effect of the move up in the gasoline futures.

The knee-jerk repsonse is that the big oil companies are profiting at the expense of the consumer but the real cause is not exploitive balance sheet growth, but simple supply and demand.

Funny thing is that most won't think twice about spending $5 on a cup of coffee but will balk at $3 a gallon for gas. Given the process to get the latter, when event like this take place, free market economics show their true colors. And as hard as that is to absorb (wallet wise), that's the beauty of this system.

All that being said, a tax on top of that is disgusting and I hope that when prices cool down, and they will, the politicians will realize that when things like this take place, placing more burden on top of the open market with foolish taxes is horrific.

[HOYA97]

A Hoya is part of a saying that we "Georgetown" Alumni and students call out to one another on campus. The complete saying is Hoya Saxa which means "What rocks".

Livin large in Suwanee, if thats possible. ;-)