Gasoline uproar meets muted reply, WH dismisses cap on gas prices

[bufffbison]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/rssstory.mpl/business/3337948

Gasoline uproar meets muted reply
By JESSICA HOLZER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - With the cost of gasoline soaring in the wake of Katrina, political pressure is mounting to impose price controls, but White House officials dismiss the idea and economists warn that caps would be counter- productive.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., urged President Bush on Friday to put a temporary freeze on prices of gasoline and other refined products. But White House officials said price caps are off the table.

With gasoline prices soaring above $4 in some places, public anxiety has reached a fever pitch, and government officials are scrambling to respond.

State attorneys general across the country have pledged to crack down on price gougers.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Friday that investigators have already begun checking for abuses.

The U.S. Department of Energy is also on the hunt for profiteers, urging consumers to report prices that strike them as too high in light of market conditions.

Complaints go to the Federal Trade Commission, which can initiate inquiries.

"Consumers are our first line of defense," a department spokesman said

[iconoclastic cat]

1. The oil companies are fucking mainlining pure Mammon.

They're not an addict, baby, that's a lie...

[tritsofme]

2. Price controls are a bad idea.

They will only cause shortages.

I lived through the 70s, and the price controls Nixon imposed only made things worst, and gave us a decade of stagflation.

[Autumn Colors]

3. Forget that ....

Yeah, their response is more like:

We will NOT forfeit our profits just because YOU can't afford the product. If you can't pay the market value ... WALK. :sarcasm: