South Carolina state Sen. Dick Elliott has a great idea to reduce gasoline prices in his state. Cap how much oil companies can raise prices.
No surprise, Elliott is a Democrat. And, he must be a real fan of Jimmy Carter. Plus, having served in the state Senate since 1992, he must be senile. He can’t remember that Carter did this for the entire country with disastrous results. And, the great state of Hawaii, always with the highest gasoline prices in the nation, has tried it at least once. They didn’t learn from that, so they had a bill to try it again.
So, taking all the profits from crude to the pump would save 30 cents a gallon. But, almost no oil companies handle the product from the refinery to the consumer’s tank anymore. So, refiners would not cut prices to South Carolina. If the cap left 20 cents to be shared, South Carolina would find the retailers and wholesalers would choose not take a loss for the good of the state. So, they would just stop selling gasoline.
Then, the state would have to do what the state of Massachusetts is trying to do, force health insurance companies to sell at a loss with RomenyCare. That would be interesting to see. All the small business men in South Carolina, gasoline wholesalers and retailers taking that from their elected officials. The wholesalers in South Carolina are big businessmen with hundreds of employees. They would just shut down the retail outlets and shut the economy of the state.
It is reassuring by the actions of politicians like Dick Elliott that some things never change. Ignorance of the energy business continues unabated year after year by the Elliott’s of the country. None have the intellect or the energy to study any phase of the business. Second, there is always a lying scoundrel like Elliott who will seek publicity by promising voter something he knows he can’t deliver just to appear to represent their interests. It’s as disingenuous as you can get, but it never stops.
Go ahead South Carolina the country needs to see what happens when the government tries to mandate gasoline prices. Watching the result will be very entertaining and maybe even educational for the rest of the Elliott’s who might think this is a good idea. It will end Elliott’s political career. If blowhards like him who never expect to get something like this passed get what they want, it will stop some of the blow harding.
