Gotta Get Gas

No Riv work tonight because I needed gas in my daily driver. The amber light blinked on a few days ago, and the needle came to rest on E during my trip home. So after the kidlet was tucked in, I set out on an expedition to find fuel, because most stations in the area are out, or have lines storied to be 1/2 an hour long.

The 7th station I came to had gas, and a 5-car line (not bad, really), and naturally, the goofball just in front of me jumps to a pump with the nozzle on the wrong side, and it doesn't reach across...so she looks at me like I did it, and then turns her SUV around (against the flow) and fills her tank. Sure enough, another goofball lines up behind her, and traps her in. So we wait, and fume, and an employee comes by and gets things straightened out, and I get my turn. But really, now, people, is it that hard?!?

So here's my take on this: the activation of the anti-gouging law by the governor in the absence of a real emergency here is acting as a price cap and exaggerating the shortage because demand outpaces supply at the current price. Economics 101 says that if we allowed stations to price the gas higher, then people unwilling to pay the higher price could go to the next station. Consumers end up losing anyway because time is money, and we now have to spend both extra time along with our money to get our gas. And in my world, that means a day without Riv work.