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Originally Posted by tbdiscovery
From what I have heard on here, and I have done no research on it, WaWa is able to offer gas so cheaply because the net result is higher in-store sales. And this is why some gas stations actually close, just like Walmart kills small retailers. The small stores fight it out until they go under.
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frequently the ones that have it the toughest are the franchisees who are forced to do corporates bidding and buy at their prices. independents buy on the spot market like wawa and can sometimes undercut folks like sunoco (although you're right about wawa). many independents folded when the new tank requirements and I'd venture to say selling gas as an independent doesn't make much sense unless you run another business like a shop/uHaul/food store. Wawa has been great. Where I grew up we always had expensive gas...until wawa came to town. they were all forced to lower their rates (except exxon because they had the best location and people, at least then, woudl pay for the convenience or b/c they were lazy).
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Originally Posted by markeddixon
Similarly, globalization hurts U.S. factory workers. But that hasn't stopped globalization, has it? The counter-argument -- that globalization helps more Americans than it hurts -- has carried the day so far.
There are ways to help people at the bottom end cope with higher gas prices. But higher, much higher gas prices are what will eventually loosen the stranglehold of petroleum.
(Truckers are entitled to earn a decent living, so they should pass through all their costs -- including fuel costs. Their solution is to refuse to haul loads that don't pay enough.)
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One coudl also argue that globalization isn't a choice or that the alternate choice, isolationism, is even worse. the stranglehold is already being weakened. the next answer just hasn't arrived yet but that doesn't eman it won't. I don't see the argument for dramatically higher gas taxes unless it's link to road maintenance. That's not to say we shouldn't put money into alternate modes of surface transportation but higher gas taxes are passed on to consumers, which hurts those who make less. Some countries even subsidize gas (not that I'd recomend that).