“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.
Ok here’s my supposition:
The summary is: wealthy donor(s) are covering the loss so Trump doesn’t lose the midterms.
The longer version is: most fuel consumed in the US is produced domestically. There no “shortage” because of the Iran situation, but prices increase because there’s no alternative putting downward pressure on prices.
Suppose some domestic producer decided that the cost to them of trump being impeached is greater than the profit foregone by selling fuel at less than market rates.
Or, suppose Trump said to local producers, if you keep me in office we will keep this Iran thing going indefinitely, so process are down when he needs them to be but can go back up after an election.
No matter how you slice it, seems like a recipe for hyper wealth concentration.
US is a net exporter of refined fuels (what you put in your car), but the US doesn’t produce the heavy crude that its refineries are all set up to convert into that fuel.
It’s like saying you produce more cakes than you consume. That doesn’t really mean shit when you run out of sugar, bomb the supermarket, mine the roads between you and the supermarket, and burn all the bridges between you and your neighbors. Can’t exactly “borrow a cup of sugar” your way out of this one.
Whataa beautiful analogy!