I was just out to lunch (okay, I know some of you would say I’ve been that way for a long time.).  Anyhow, I see our gas stations and corresponding companies are at it again.  Regular unleaded was going for $3.139 a gallon when I began my lunch break and had risen to $3.399 by the time I was through.  I don’t know if this is just getting an early start on the traditional Memorial Day price gouging – I mean travel season – or what.

I always hate going to a store and finding layers of price stickers on a product that are continually higher than that underneath it.  The idea that a product sits in stock for a period of time and someone decides to charge more for it.  It is not a product just like a cheaper one – it is the exact same one with no change in its cost basis to the store.  They just decided that they would like more money for it.

I know that many gas stations are simply storing fuel for thier supplier and the station pays based on the time and day the fuel is pumped.  They are often caught in the middle.  But the point still remains as you work up the corporate chain, the cost basis for that fuel sitting at the station did not change between this morning and this afternoon.  There was not a truck there bringing in a fresh supply of more expensive gasoline.  Someone has simply decided to make an additional 26 cents a gallon on it.

So, what’s a gallon of gas worth?  In a free-market economy it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.  I suspect prices will continue to rise steadily until individuals begin saying, “It’s not worth it.  I’m going to find other ways to meet my transportation needs.”  I don’t think I see that happening on a large-scale basis in this country any time soon.

And to think, I remember when gasoline broke the 1 dollar barrier and stations around the country were scrambling to figure out how to calibrate pumps that were only designed for a maximum price of $.999 per gallon.