Checking Up on Fear-Driven, Panicky Consumers
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The News & Advance
Published: September 12, 2008
Thumbs down to the fearmongering broadcast media and panicked buyers of gasoline for their reactions to Hurricane Ike and refinery closures in Texas.
Friday afternoon, cars were lined up at gasoline stations across Central Virginia, trying to fill up before “prices go through the roof.” Shouting matches, reported fights, police directing traffic: It was a textbook example of fear-driven marketing.
Yes, refineries in Texas were closed as Ike neared Houston. Yes, the hurricane may cause some damage. But, no, there is not a shortage of fuel in this area (or at least there wasn’t before people tuned into local TV stations’ noon news broadcasts).
What we saw was nothing more than fear- and rumormongering by the media in search of ratings, with a classic lemming response by the general public.
And those retailers who hiked their gas prices to more than $5 a gallon? They’d better be prepared for possible price-gouging investigations by the state.
Everyone ought to be be ashamed.
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Posted by ( oldman66 ) on September 15, 2008 at 12:59 am
After giving additional thought to the subject of Friday’s “price-gouging”, it should be relatively simple to “investigate”. Any establishment raising prices in the neighorhood of $1.50 per gallon in an afternoon is guilty. So where do they pay the fine?
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Posted by ( poet ) on September 13, 2008 at 4:27 pm
oldman, I took notice of the suttle referrence to the do nothing congress of the last two years with regard to the greed of the oil companies.
This is not just a two year old problem you can throw falsely at the feet of this democratic congress. It goes back to at least 1974.
Let’s not ignore the many years we’ve had republican presidents who had the control of both the house and senate and they did nothing to address the problem either. In fact it’s the republicans that sanctioned this legalize thievery from the oil companies and even invited them into private meetings to set their own policies in secret. Not much of a secret anymore what they were up too. Unless, of course, one suffers from idealogical blindness.
At the very least lets be intellectuall honest.
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Posted by ( Cleo ) on September 13, 2008 at 3:31 pm
If there is any justice in this world, which of course there isn’t,the people that have patronized those jerks that jumped their prices to $5.00 almost immediately, will now buy elsewhere and put those crooks out of business!! The state will do absolutely nothing about the gouging.
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Posted by ( oldman66 ) on September 13, 2008 at 8:28 am
The briefness of this editorial tells me the writer was having a slow day, is out of touch with the mainstream or was in a rush to get out of the office and start a weekend.
For upwards of (2) years consumers have been gouged at the gas pumps by distributors on up the chain to high echelon energy company management. On several occasions the inept Congress has questioned the mammoth quarterly profits of these companies and each time were told - this is the way it is, the way it’s going to be, get used to it. After each inquiry the “do-nothing” Congress did just that - nothing.
And the editorial writer has the audacity to critize the consumer for fueling their vehicles on 9/12 and comparing them to a foraging rodent? Remember the adage - do I buy food or medicine? Add another to the list - do I buy gasoline or groceries?
What an asinine statement - “They’d better be prepared for possible price-gouging investigations by the state”. Like the consuming public believes that Kaine’s administration will offer anything but “lip-service”. This twerp is trying to impose additional tax on gasoline in case you haven’t heard. No one should hold their breath waiting for Richmond to offer any assistance for the public good.
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Posted by ( Cosmo Wafflefoot ) on September 13, 2008 at 4:07 am
Just one small example of the incredible fragility of our economy. More off-shore drilling, past or present, will do nothing to improve this situation. Concentrating on oil exploration rather than alternate forms of energy and transportation is economic suicide.
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