Price setting
Remember the uproar that was raised back in late July about the high gasoline prices? Why, some of those put-upon citizens of Ontario were paying as high as 66.9 cents a litre to keep their cars on the road.
Here in Saskatoon the price went up to 60.9 and we were just as indignant. Obviously someone was getting a huge rake-off somewhere. Some politicians tried to make use of this public unrest and demanded an inquiry.
We were told at the time that there was no use in such an inquiry because the way oil prices were tracking, the gas price would be coming down again shortly, inquiry or no.
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I trust all you good people have been standing on one foot waiting for the price to go down, as the public relations people for the oil industry led us to believe.
As of late September, two months later, our price is unchanged. I suspect if it does go down there will be offsetting increases a month or two down the road. And we take it because we are hooked on car travel.
For the past 50 or more years oil companies, with the assistance of provincial and federal governments, have had production controls, market sharing and regardless of what they advertise, they supinely follow the lead of the major oil companies in setting prices. Go through any city in Canada or the United States and check the pump prices. Except for a constricted period every six to 12 months when there is a so-called “price war,” 90 percent of the posted prices are shockingly identical.
It is said there is a sucker born every minute. Obviously you and I were born in the wrong part of the minute.
