“When losses happen, somebody’s got to pay for it.”
Called Freedom Fuel Network, the enterprise encompasses dozens of gas stations throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, USA Today reported, although it isn’t exactly clear which locations are open for business. Plastered in American flag decals and “Freedom Fuel” branding, the gas stations seem to be selling unleaded gasoline for the fixed-price of $3.47 per gallon, about 32 cents cheaper than the current average price in the US.
According to GasBuddy, nearby prices range from $3.85 to as much as $4.49 — no doubt reflecting the slower drip of oil from the president’s costly war on Iran, which burst back into active fighting this week.
As head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy Patrick De Haan told the Philadelphia Inquirer, the current price of crude oil means there’s no way Freedom Fuel’s $3.47 price point can turn a profit.
“Stations selling at this price, it’s not sustainable,” De Haan explained. “Generally, when losses happen, somebody’s got to pay for it.”
De Haan raises an obvious question: who is paying for it? If the stations are losing money on every gallon, somebody has to make up the difference somewhere — whether out of Trump’s pocket, that of a friendly donor, or the taxpayer’s. And if it’s a private company taking the hit, how long until they stop subsidizing Pennsylvania drivers?
Already, the stunt seems to be distorting local markets. As of Wednesday, a nearby Sam’s Club in Dresher dropped its price to match the $3.47 figure — surely good news for anybody buying gas in South Eastern Pennsylvania, but as always, the devil is in the details.
If they want less authoritarianism, yes!
Or better yet, somebody who calls themselves “socialist” or “progressive,” because at least they tend to be decent on civil rights, if not necessarily stuff like economic policy. It’s ridiculous, but Bernie Sanders is one of the most actually-libertarian people in Congress.
If some of the “progressives” could give up on some of their overly-bureaucratic ideas with excessive means-testing (like welfare instead of UBI, “affordable” [i.e. “subsidized”] housing instead of zoning reform to reduce costs, etc.) they’d be perfect actual-libertarian candidates.