Thursday! Last day of the month!
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
If you'd like to be part of the Itzl Alert Network, please leave a comment asking to join, or send us a message asking to join. We'd love to have you. The bigger our network, the less likely someone will be stranded all alone.
I wish gasoline prices were tied to an actual demand and supply equation rather than fear.
Last night, on the way home from work, I drove past the service station I generally use. The gas price at that time was $3.11 (9). An hour later I drove past it again to visit a friend and deliver a package to her. The gas price at that time was $3.29 (9).
There's been no oil refinery fires, no storms sinking oil platforms, no disasters that would suddenly make gasoline scarce and to drive the price up so fast so suddenly.
Fear did it.
I don't know precisely what they are afraid of, but it's fear dictating the gasoline prices, not demand.
I know this because the prices have fluctuated with wild abandon this week, rising and falling far too rapidly for demand to be a factor in the cost. Prices have ranged from $2.98 (9) to $3.58(9) this week alone.
Some of the prices are gouging, which is now illegal in this state, and when the station is caught, the price plummets as fast as it rose. It stays there long enough to satisfy the law, and then it skyrockets until they get caught again.
Right now, by law (and this law was in place well before 2001), gas stations (and all other retailers, it turns out) must mark their prices as no less than 6¢ above wholesale price, so everyone is guaranteed at least 6¢ "profit" on each item sold. There is no theoretical maximum - and if they raise prices incrementally enough, no one will catch if they are gouging. They get caught when they raise prices fast and in large amounts.
I'm pretty sure this station will be dramatically dropping its prices sometime today. Especially since other stations I passed had prices substantially lower.
I could be wrong and when I leave work, everyone will have their prices up by 20¢ a gallon or more.
I don't shop enough to know if gasoline is the only wildly fluctuating retail item, and I only get to track it because the price is posted outdoors and visibly.