Earl Shoup – 1/17/07

This page was last updated on January 18, 2007.

Oil company profiteering; Earl Shoup; Beaver County Times; January 17, 2007.

This is at least the second letter from Mr. Shoup on this topic. This letter is of the same quality.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Why do our legislators allow big oil companies to instantly raise the price of gas at the pump when the price of a barrel of oil increases, but they allow those same companies to slowly bring the pump cost down when the price of a barrel of oil decreases? Recent case scenario: The price of a barrel of oil fell to $53 on Jan. 12 and has declined from a high of $78 since late last summer, yet the price of gas at the pump has only just begun to come down as of Jan. 3, and only a few cents to date.”

“Also, why do they allow those same companies to spike their prices as they did a few days before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s?”

[RWC] What happened to freedom and the free market? Does Mr. Shoup really believe it’s the government’s role to set product prices? If he does, whether he knows it or not, he’s supporting extreme socialism or communism.

“I suggest they look into and act appropriately on this matter. It’s about time they started to look after the best interests of the people who placed them in office and not the big oil companies, which line their campaign coffers with big dollars.”

[RWC] If Mr. Shoup really believes it’s in “the best interests of the people” for government to set product prices, I believe he needs a couple of quick lessons in high school civics and economics.

Why stop with oil companies? Using Mr. Shoup’s logic, why shouldn’t the government set all product/service prices and wages? Oh wait; we already have minimum milk prices in Pennsylvania (and gasoline prices in some states) and a minimum wage. Perhaps we’re not that far from Mr. Shoup’s goal after all.