Government gas cartel enforced... After taxes!

June 03, 2005 at 03:34 AM | categories: liberty rants | View Comments

Uncle Sam's Cartel
As if government taxes weren't enough, Maryland has decided (circa 2001) that they can tell a gas station what price they can and can't sell their gas for.

Apparently Maryland has legislated that a gas station can not sell gas for lower than what they pay for it. While maybe that's general good business sense, what right does the government have to mandate a price in the first place? The way I see it, they already taxed it. They already got their say (regardless if the tax was right in the first place). As long as the gas station could afford to do it, it sounds like a solid competitive business strategy. I honestly don't care if it pisses off the other gas stations in town, I'll buy from whoever has the cheapest gas prices this week.

Maryland is not only allowing price fixing, this time they are actively involved in a cartel by any reasonable definition of the word. Non-government affiliated organizations would be held accountable to anti-trust laws, but when the government does it themselves... who's to keep them accountable?

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No Smoking? No Service!

June 02, 2005 at 03:32 PM | categories: uncategorized | View Comments

I took this picture yesterday at the local Taco Bell. What are they trying to say? Taco Bell Sign
I can see a couple of possibilities.

This is the way that I personally read it:

  • They have no shirt here
  • They have no shoes here
  • They have no smoking here
  • And they have no service to provide here.

Probably not quite what they intended. But the alternative is even worse:

  • If you have no shirt on
  • If you have no shoes on
  • Or if you're not smoking
  • Then you get no service.

Hmm..
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