Hawaii Puts Cap On Gas Prices

Isaac · 08-24-2005, 07:29 PM

Quote:

The state's Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday that, beginning Sept. 1, wholesalers in Honolulu may not charge more than $2.1578 a gallon for regular unleaded, or about $2.74 a gallon when taxes are included. The commission set the caps, which will fluctuate from week to week, at different levels for other islands.

The law does not establish a cap at the retail level. But if retailers keep their usual 12-cent-per-gallon markup, prices for regular unleaded in Honolulu could in theory rise to about $2.86 per gallon.

On Wednesday, the average retail price of regular unleaded in Honolulu was at a record $2.761, some 15 cents above the nationwide average. Statewide, prices average $2.84, the highest in the nation, according to AAA's Web site.

Prices on Maui have already topped $3 a gallon this week.

Full story here.

€uroMeinke · 08-24-2005, 07:40 PM

So if gas costs more in the market, I guess Hawaii goes without?

Not Afraid · 08-24-2005, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

So if gas costs more in the market, I guess Hawaii goes without?

Heh. It's an ISLAND! How far do they need to go?

Ghoulish Delight · 08-24-2005, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

So if gas costs more in the market, I guess Hawaii goes without?

Well, the price floats, and it's base on an average from Los Angeles, New York harbor and the U.S. Gulf Coast (which seem to me would be some of the highest priced markets on the mainland), + a premium for shipping costs. It doesn't sound like it's an unreasonably low cap.

Monorail Man · 08-24-2005, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Well, the price floats

I think there's a pun in there.

Betty · 08-25-2005, 05:28 AM

I just don't get how the price can go up nearly 80 cents in a few months. 6 months ago I had a local station that was at 1.99 - a brand name place that was the cheapest in town. (Shell I think). It is now at 1.77. Ridiculous. Filling up my van on Monday was over $65. Bah!

scaeagles · 08-25-2005, 06:11 AM

Price controls are always a bad idea, IMHO.

Thomas Sowell is perhaps my favorite syndicated columnist. He's a Stanford economist and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute. Here's a couple of recent columns regarding oil, gas, and price controls -

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/t...20050823.shtml

An excerpt:

Why, then, are oil prices so high?

There is no esoteric reason. It is plain old supply and demand. With the economies of huge nations like China and India developing more rapidly, now that they have freed their markets from many stifling government controls, more oil is being demanded in the world market and there are few new sources of supply.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/t...20050824.shtml

An exerpt:

Prices are what pay for costs. The government can impose price controls on gasoline or petroleum tomorrow but that will not have the slightest effect on the cost of oil exploration or the cost of extracting and processing the oil that is found.

When the costs are no longer being fully covered by prices, production is likely to be cut back, whether it is the production of oil or anything else. This is not speculation. This is what has been happening for literally thousands of years, going back to price controls in ancient Rome and Babylon.

Yet price controls have always been popular politically, despite being counterproductive economically. After all, how many votes do economists have and how many voters know economics?

Some people love to believe that prices should be kept down to a "reasonable" level, something that everyone can "afford." Yet the notion of "reasonable" prices is itself unreasonable. The costs of producing oil don't depend on what we can afford or consider "reasonable." Nor does the cost of anything else.

Name · 08-25-2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Price controls are always a bad idea, IMHO.

So, does that include minimum wage too? Just curious.

But as far as gas prices go, screw em, I pay about $10 a week for gas. Sure it would be nice to pay only 4 or 5 dollars a week, but I can handle the $10 a week. Why so cheap, because I ride a motorcycle that gets about 50 miles/gallon, I am also limiting my driving around to as little as possible. Back and forth to work, and the occasional errand. As gas prices go up, research into more economical methods of converting fuel into energy need to be found.

And I'm spent.

Morrigoon · 08-25-2005, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Name

So, does that include minimum wage too? Just curious.

Yes, it does.

Price controls are a bad thing. Period.

scaeagles · 08-25-2005, 11:37 AM

I am against the minimum wage.

I also do well in terms of gas expenditures. I work from a home office, so no commute, and my wife teaches at a school only 2 miles from our house.

08-24-2005, 07:40 PM	#2
€uroMeinke L'Hédoniste Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: A.S.C.O.T. Posts: 8,671	So if gas costs more in the market, I guess Hawaii goes without? __________________ I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. Friedrich Nietzsche
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08-25-2005, 05:28 AM	#6
Betty Kicking up my heels! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The Silver State Posts: 3,783	I just don't get how the price can go up nearly 80 cents in a few months. 6 months ago I had a local station that was at 1.99 - a brand name place that was the cheapest in town. (Shell I think). It is now at 1.77. Ridiculous. Filling up my van on Monday was over $65. Bah!
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08-25-2005, 06:11 AM	#7
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	Price controls are always a bad idea, IMHO. Thomas Sowell is perhaps my favorite syndicated columnist. He's a Stanford economist and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute. Here's a couple of recent columns regarding oil, gas, and price controls - http://www.townhall.com/columnists/t...20050823.shtml An excerpt: Why, then, are oil prices so high? There is no esoteric reason. It is plain old supply and demand. With the economies of huge nations like China and India developing more rapidly, now that they have freed their markets from many stifling government controls, more oil is being demanded in the world market and there are few new sources of supply. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/t...20050824.shtml An exerpt: Prices are what pay for costs. The government can impose price controls on gasoline or petroleum tomorrow but that will not have the slightest effect on the cost of oil exploration or the cost of extracting and processing the oil that is found. When the costs are no longer being fully covered by prices, production is likely to be cut back, whether it is the production of oil or anything else. This is not speculation. This is what has been happening for literally thousands of years, going back to price controls in ancient Rome and Babylon. Yet price controls have always been popular politically, despite being counterproductive economically. After all, how many votes do economists have and how many voters know economics? Some people love to believe that prices should be kept down to a "reasonable" level, something that everyone can "afford." Yet the notion of "reasonable" prices is itself unreasonable. The costs of producing oil don't depend on what we can afford or consider "reasonable." Nor does the cost of anything else.
	Submit to Quotes

08-25-2005, 11:37 AM	#10
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	I am against the minimum wage. I also do well in terms of gas expenditures. I work from a home office, so no commute, and my wife teaches at a school only 2 miles from our house.
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