Gasoline--Ripoff!

Something completely different here . . .

OK, I've watched gasoline prices for years. And one thing I've noticed is that the difference in price between regular unleaded, premium and super hasn't changed much.

Way back when regular unleaded was 79.9 cents per gallon, premium was 89.9 and super was 99.9. That 10 cent per gallon difference per 'step-up' translated into premium being 112.5% of regular, and super was 125% of regular. This was back in the early to mid 1990's; I don't remember exactly when.

Recently I saw where regular unleaded was going for $2.509 per gallon, premium at $2.619, and super at $2.729 per gallon. That 11 cent per gallon difference per 'step-up' means that premium is now 104.3% of regular, and super is now 108.7% of premium.

Now, this means one of three things. First, that the cost of whatever it is that they do to gasoline to make it 'premium' or 'super' hasn't gone up much over the past 15 to 20 years. I can't think of anything that hasn't gone up in that time, so I'd discard this one.

Secondly, that those who put premium or super in their cars and trucks 15 to 20 years ago were getting ripped off, in that the actual cost of making the gasoline 'premium' or 'super' wasn't as much as what they were getting charged.

Third, that today those of us who are using regular are actually subsidizing those who use premium or super, in that the cost of making those higher octane gasoline blends is in fact higher than the price difference being charged for them. In this case, the 'regular' gasoline users are getting ripped off by being made to pay for things they're not getting, in order to keep the prices for premium and super artificially lower.

Not that I expect this learned dissertation into gasoline pricing structures will do anything; it won't lead to some massive consumer revolt and make all life fair and cause the planets to align and usher in an era of global peace. No, it's just another musing about how we're getting ripped off, and what's worse, we're all used to it.