Well, I haven't made anyone mad at me yet today, so I may as well jump in here. First, cost of production is not the same in all parts of the country. Wages vary from region to region, for one thing. Second, transportation costs are higher in some areas. Most of the gasoline in Phoenix comes through Tucson first. More distance means more money, so gas is higher usually in Phoenix. Also, I am a believer in the free enterprise system. Communism has been tried lots of places and didn't do well. Free enterprise is simple. As a merchant, my job is to buy as cheaply as I can and charge as much as I can get. That's free enterprise. All of you who work for a wage practice it every day. You want as much salary or hourly wage as you can get. If you currently make $15 an hour and someone offers you $25 an hour, I don't imagine you are going to say, "Maybe I should turn it down, because I'm not worth that much." Nope, you are worth as much as you can get. That's free enterprise. Same with gas or any other product. It is worth whatever the merchant can get you to pay. For every product there is a price point that maximizes profit. As you raise the price, sales drop while profit on each unit rises. Raising prices will only increase total profit as long as sales don't drop too much. Somewhere is a magic number that puts the most dollars of profit in your pocket. If you are a merchant, that's what you should charge. By the way, gasoline is imported from great distances, heavily regulated during processing, shipping, and final delivery to the consumer, and still costs less than almost anything else. Try to buy a gallon of soda, milk, orange juice, or even water for what you pay for gasoline. Bill in Willcox ----- Original Message ----- From: "GUY ALDRICH" > On my trip to Ohio the average price was $1.35,we are > being ripped off here! > > --- J H/TEAM 360 wrote: > > > > Gas in Albuquerque is only $1.38 :) > > > > WE ARE GETTING SO RIPPED OFF HERE IN AZ!