Local Gas Prices Are Out of Kilter
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In the Sunday, Jan. 1, Pilot, Frank McNeill of McNeill Oil Company was quoted as offering advice to people to fill up their automobiles prior to the onset of the increased state tax on gasoline and the elimination of the federal subsidy on ethanol.
The impact on the residents of our area will be even greater because of the consistently higher prices for gasoline in our market compared with the rest of the state. As a 10-year resident of Pinehurst, I have been perplexed why this is so. I make several trips to Raleigh each month and to Charlotte less frequently, and the price of gasoline becomes decidedly cheaper about 15 miles from our area.
On Dec. 18, I purchased premium grade fuel in Raleigh for 32 cents a gallon less than was being charged in Southern Pines. When I travel to Charlotte and pass through Albemarle, the prices are consistently cheaper and remain so all the way to Charlotte.
I have several neighbors who travel throughout the state, and they tell me the highest prices for gasoline they encounter are in our area.
The oil distributors are a key element in the chain of establishing the price of gasoline at the various retail locations around the state. I think it is time for Mr. McNeill and the other oil distributors in our area to enlighten the citizens in our community why the cost of gasoline is so high compared with most other parts of our state.
Many of the citizens in our community are living on fixed incomes. And with no meaningful public transportation available, the cost of gasoline is a critical recurring expense of their household budget each month. I would urge Sen. Blake and Rep. Boles to examine this issue and report to their constituents the findings of their investigation.
James Maynard
Pinehurst
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Comments
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
Mr. Maynard may be the only Pinehurst resident unfamiliar with the workings of capitalism. He is also one of the few in that village requesting government intervention in the free market economy. Guess we only get upset when things affect us. My suggestion would be to trade in the "land cruiser" that requires the hi test and get something that runs on regular. Keep it in the garage, the neighbors won't notice.
ricksarno 1 year, 4 months ago
I don't care how you spin it, but the citizens of our area are victims of price gouging by the local distributors and retailers. I hate government intervention in anything and don't think that is the solution. Besides, our elected officials are either unable or unwilling to do anything anyway. This has been going on for a long time. Whenever possible, I fill up when I am out of the area. Maybe if more people did that we could hurt them in the pocket. Can you have a free enterprise system, with a conscience?
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
Nobody is a "victim of price gouging". If the price is higher than you want to pay, don't buy it. We always want to blame someone else for things we have to accept responsibility for. When you pay the price advertised, you are confirming to the merchant that the price is acceptable. Take responsibility for your part in the problem.
MikeNC 1 year, 4 months ago
Maybe getting our area to reduce the price, could be accomplished as someone mentioned. Get enough people to drive out of our area to purchase or get enough people here refuse to buy gas for one day, the message may then be heard. When N C finally figured out they were losing big time with people crossing the border to buy lottery tickets, look what happened. Diane
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
wdd101st: Removing the subsidy WILL make the current ethanol program go away. I applaud the minds that are looking for alternatives to oil based energy sources. But the minds that selected a needed food product for its raw material needs to have their minds examined. I'm thinking that kudsu, which grows at the rate of about a foot an hour, would be an ideal candidate for producing plant based fuels.
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
MikeNC (Diane); Aawh, ain't it sweet, I'm a special "someone" for Diane.
justmyopinion 1 year, 4 months ago
Instead of people driving across the county line to buy gas, maybe an alternative idea is to stop buying gas in a paticular town or from a particular owner/chain or brand. Just for an example, if no one bought gas from Mac's stores (by the way, are those owned by Frank McNeil as someone told me??) or Kangaroo for a period of time, wouldn't that send a pretty clear message. How long can gas sit in underground tanks before it goes bad? I think I will no longer buy gas from Mac's or Kangaroo. I've read all the e-mails about not buying gas on a particular day which I wouldn't think works because people would simply have to buy it the next day. However. if you start pressuring one owner / store to either lower their price or risk thousands of gallons of gas going bad sitting in tanks, I sincerely think you would see Moore County's gas prices start to get in line with our surrounding counties.
Why don't the Occupy people "occupy" Mac's or Kangaroo? Now that is a cause everyone could possibly rally behind.
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
If you think you are being gouged, think about this: We send 23% of all America's crude down our pipeline...it runs less than a mile from where l am sitting. We pay 4 bucks a gallon, and our villages pay from 7-10 dollars a gallon. Our heating oil costs 4 bucks a gallon and it is headed back to below 40-50 below zero!! At least we have the Permanent Fund that is based on our oil wealth, but trust me, it doesnt offset the cost we pay for energy!!
Nezumi 1 year, 4 months ago
I'll go one up on you Yukon, it is costing $400/gal. to ship gas to Afghanistan, partially thanks to our Pakistani friends halting overland shipments. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57337390-503543/real-cost-of-gas-at-afghan-bases-$400-gal/
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
Just one more reason for us to take our posteriors OUT of there!! Let them eat sand and rock. If the Taliban take back over, so be it. If we are ever attacked by them, destroy everything that moves with a few nukes!!
ricksarno 1 year, 4 months ago
JER, I disagree. The stores in outlying areas are not paying less for the gas they are selling than our stores here. Our local stores charge more because they have a large captured audience many of whom are less fortunate financially and can't drive to where the cheaper gas is. They charge more for the gas because they can, and, yes, that is the free enterprise system. I don't think it's gouging, I know it is. I don't care what it costs to send gas to Afganistan, I care about what I pay for it here and I will continue to take every opportunity to buy it elsewhere. They are not only losing my gas business, by the way. I won't spend a dime inside their stores.
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
ricksarno: I don't believe I said that stores in the outlying areas pay less for the gas they sell.
MikeNC 1 year, 4 months ago
It has got to be pretty tough to sit there and look at the pipeline and yet pay those outrageous prices Yukon. Pure insanity. Diane
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
Yeah, and Diane, this morning is hanging right around 49 below. Close enough to 50 below zero for my liking, but it is what it is. When it gets down here, it is dangerous cold, and one has to have a good woodstove, and a good furnace, that sucks that 4 buck a gallon heating oil. Yes, it is kinda hard, knowing the pipeline is within such a close distance, about a mile or so, and yet we pay so much. But, on the bright side, we have over 40 billion in our savings account for 600,000 of us. Someday, maybe we will just divy it up between us, but for now we just take a check every year.
buddysmith 1 year, 4 months ago
the article, mentioned in the letter, was the same article that had Mcneil worried about people in border towns driving across the state line to buy much cheaper gas. let me ask you? if you lived in rowland or hamlet and gas was cheaper by more than 20 cents per gallon, would you drive across the border to fill up? what folks should be more steamed about is the tax, per gallon, good ole nc keeps nailing us with. about time the state stops gouging the crap out of us working folks. maybe a letter, from mcneil to the pilot, is appropriate to explain why we pay more for gas in this area, than other parts of the state. does he distribute gas anywhere else besides moore county?
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
Not only would I drive a few miles to fill up, I would take a 55 gallon drum or two with me and fill them up too!!!
As I had mentioned above, we pay 4 dollars a gallon for heating oil and I was wondering why my furnace kept running when I have my woodstove cranking pretty good. I went out on my porch and it is 53 below zero!!! Here is a link to downtown Fairbanks. It is only 45 below there, and we are probably an hour or so from the low of the day! At least that might make ya'lls cold feel "not so cold"
http://newsminer.com/pages/arcticcam
Nezumi 1 year, 4 months ago
Yukon, after 3 years in Minnesota "I feel your pain" - although I don't remember anything like 53 below...
hopeful 1 year, 4 months ago
Please tell me again why we have to pay more in Moore County? And no I am not driving to another county to just purchase gas. It would not be cost effective since I would use up my savings just getting there and back.....if only I had a few drums to fill up..........
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
LMAO Good one harleyboy!! Ron Paul is the only one that makes any sense to me. And as far as environmental impact....in Afghanistan, that is not on most people's tourist destinations anyway!! That is not Ron Paul's platform, but if we were to legalize drugs, they would instantly be third world paupers.
driveshaft 1 year, 4 months ago
I was told that McNeil Oil based their price on what it cost when ordered. That being said, I know that gas in Sanford was 15 - 20 cents a gallon cheaper for several weeks. During this time I am sure that McNeil Oil ordered more gas but their price never lowered. Gas in Pinebluff was lower than ours for 2 weeks. For the record McNeil Oil also services the Exxon in front of Sears. Is there any way to get a list of the stations they service? I'm sure the Pilot could get that info !!!!!
Nezumi 1 year, 4 months ago
Gas Buddy is a good app on Android phones for local gas prices
DaveyNC 1 year, 4 months ago
@hopeful, we pay more here because we are clearly willing to do so. If we weren't willing to pay more, then the prices would come down very rapidly to the point that we would start buying more.
@driveshaft, a question for you and for Mr. Maynard, the writer of the letter. Where is it written down that a seller of anything must sell his goods or services for the least amount possible? When you set out to sell something, don't you set out to get the most for the item that you can? Why should a gas retailer do any differently?
This whole topic just amazes me. People seem to believe that they have a right to buy gas at the exact same price coast to coast. Maybe Moore County gas stations have more costs than those in Lee County. Maybe Mac's is carrying higher debt or more employees or maybe they pay more for their gas because their supplier is sticking it to them for some reason and so they have to charge more in order to stay in business. Maybe they charge more because they figured out that people in Moore County are willing to pay 8 or 10 cents more per gallon and they like to make money. I promise you, if I am selling a widget for $3 and somebody comes along and is willing to pay $4, the $4 buyer is getting my widget. And I bet you $4 that you will do the same.
JER 1 year, 4 months ago
Yukonjohn: Years ago, there was a comedian named Sam Kinison that made an observation about people who lived in infertile areas of Africa who were always starving to death. His comment was that they were starving " Because they lived in the Freaking desert!!" I can observe that you are paying high energy costs to stay warm "Because you live in Freaking Alaska!!" Besides, we all know that almost everything cost more in Alaska because it's not exactly on the normal trucking company delivery route. For many, the wages paid in Alaska are based on that fact. I'm sure all of your fellow Alaskans who live in Nome are sending their thank you notes to the Russians, who just delivered much needed heating oil to keep them going. You might make a suggestion to the governor that instead of sending each of you 600,000 a check each year, maybe they should use the 40 billion dollars to build some refineries in Alaska and lower your fuel costs.
Yukonjohn 1 year, 4 months ago
And JER, you are right. Prices are higher here. A gallon of milk, which l pay 5 bucks a gallon for, costs over double that in many villages. Some of us here are looking at other ways to spend our PFD, such as a natural gas pipeline or taking some of our royality oil and just making it available to us at a much reduced costs. The big corps. dont want to hear that, but hey, it is ours. That is something that IS different here. We run our govt. by referendum. If we want something, we get petitions signed and it is on the next ballot. Also, when we talk about the "State of Alaska" we are talking about Alaskans...the people. We ARE the State. I am sorry that ya'll are having to go through these high energy prices too, but we find that we get GOUGED TOO!! I am SURE that they gouge you with no thought about it.