The ignorance and demagoguery from politicians over gas prices knows no bounds.

The Tax Foundation helpfully reminds us that over the last 25 years, the gas and oil industry has paid far more in taxes than it has reaped in profits.

Not that it should matter. Let’s assume a gas company, gas station owner, or refinery owner is selling his product at inflated prices. So what? Until it lands in your gas tank and you pay for it, it’s his damned property. I’ve never understood why politicians feel the government should have the power to determine the price at which one person must sell his own property to somone who wants to buy it.

I hate that it costs me $60 to fill up my gas tank as much as the next guy. But there is no “right” to cheap gas that someone else must drill, ship, refine, and supply for you at the retail level, any more than there’s a right to a thirty-five cent cup of coffee.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 27th, 2006 at 6:24 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.