Your Opinion: Why are local gas prices comparatively higher

Dear Editor:

Ever wonder why gas prices in the Jefferson City area all go up or down the same amount within a 24-hour period? Ever notice how gas prices in Columbia, Sedalia and at the Lake are 10 cents or more lower than in Jefferson City. To the east in Rosebud, gas prices at the lone station in town are usually 10 to 20 cents cheaper that here.

Folks worry about the impact of the Middle East oil cartel, but we in Jefferson City are being hit directly by what I call the Jefferson City gas cartel. The towns listed above are lucky, they are outside the influence of this cartel. Unfortunately those of us living in Jefferson City, California, Linn and Holts Summit are under the thumbs of this greedy cartel that is typically taking at least an extra 10 cents per gallon out of our wallets.

I would like for the media in this town, including this newspaper, to do some real in depth investigative reporting as to why this situation exists. I would like answers to the following questions:

Who really owns the gas stations in the area; who supplies the gas to the stations in the area; how are they related; why are we being ripped off?

In the past coverage of this has consisted of asking a clerk at Break Time about their gas price or talking with triple A. Neither of which has any real idea of what is going on. I would like to see real answers to these questions and not just media releases from the cartel that give phony excuses for the higher prices.

I would also like to see the paper start printing daily average gas prices in the communities mentioned above so folks can make an informed decision on where to buy their gas when they are leaving town. This information is easily available on several web sites and we use it when we need gas and are lucky enough to be going outside the boundaries of the cartel.

Gas prices on Sept. 16:

Columbia, Sedalia, Lake - $3.06; Rosebud - $2.99; JC cartel - $3.19

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