Lowering the Price of Gasoline

I've ofthen wonderet if it would be legal to establish a "credit card" that didn't offer credit, but which offered customers a share of this fee.

Not sure how the interstate commerce clause applies to credit cards and discounts for cash. This is opposed by credit card companies and no merchant is required to accept credit cards unless the requirement is imposed by a franchiser or parent corporation.

Why should we lower the price of gas, by the way. To increase consumption?

I'd rather you increase it, but thats just me.

A "discount card" would be a neat way to get around the cc-fee though. Would be neat if it were legal.

To be honest I am not really enthused about lowering the price of gas. What disturbs me is the outrageous interest rates that credit card companies charge. I think the laws that require merchants to not offer cash discounts are totally wrong and counter productive.

One way to get around CC interest rates is to pay it off every month.

Some credit cards, like Discover offer a "cash back" that gets you some of the fees back. Put everything on Discover. Pay it every month and get the 1-2% back depending on the purchase.

I don't think there is any clause saying a business can't give you a discount. If it is a small business they might be more than happy to give you a cash discount. It saves them money as well as you. Checks aren't the same as cash these days. They end up costing a business more from bad checks than credit cards do in fees.

I would like to see the price of gas go back under $2 per gallon. Its not a consumption thing for me, as I don't drive any more or any less no matter the price. But it does really cut into the monthly budget when things are more expensive.

I agree. Accepting credit cards forces a business to give the cc companies a cut of the sales price, thereby essentially discounting the price for paying with a credit card (except the discount doesn't go to the customer). In addition, when fraud occurs, the cost of that fraud usually lands at the feet of the merchant and not, as they'd have us believe, at the door of their profits. The only reason they would have lobbied for and received the law you mention in your original post is to monopolize, if you will, the means of payment. Soon enough, in order to buy or sell anything, you will have to do it with credit or through a bank, and cash will become all but obsolete. This will make the bankers very very very very rich and probably just as powerful.

What law requires merchants not to offer cash discounts. I was under the impression this was imposed entirely by the credit card companies on business that could not operate without accepting credit cards

roger, that's my understanding, too. If there is such a law, it must be fairly new. I remember there was a time when small 'mom-and-pop' service stations routinely charged a different rate for cash purchases than for credit card purchases. Didn't even realize this had changed recently. If I have enough cash on me, I always pay cash. Only time I use a CC or a debit card is if I'm short on folding money.

Good points roger, and Merry Andrew. I did some digging. The only thing I could find was a previous prohibition on merchants passing credit card processing fees on to the customer (which could translate to a prohibition on offering discounts for cash, depending on how you looked at it). However, this prohibition was apparently lifted in 2003.

Won't stop me from hating banks, of course.

Anybody else know any details about this?

I think gas prices are ridiculous. $2.23 here. Grrr....
This is sort of off topic but....
I wonder sometimes if I am getting ripped of at the gas station...not because of the price of gas but perhaps I am not getting as much gas as I am paying for. Say that you pump 10 gallons of gas and it cost you $20. What if you actually paid $20 for only 9.5 gallons of gas? The gas station would be making money off you for doing nothing.

You could always pump it into a gas can first to measure.

There are state inspectors in most states that travel around with flow meters in order to check the accuracy of the gas pumps. Not that they can't be bribed, but it's better than nothing.

I really don't see the price of gas going under 2 a gallon, ever. You shouldn't expect it to happen and should start planning accordingly.

Cycloptichorn

One reason I often take the subway to work. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of cities in this country where you can do that.

I ride my bike

Faster than the bus, and takes care of that whole exercise thing right quick.

Cycloptichorn

I'm giving thought to riding the bike, too. Well, there's traffic to consider, and I sure wish the hillclimbs were on the way to work instead of on the way home. There's weather to consider, and it seems like there's a line of people waiting to steal the darn thing if I don't keep it under lock and key every minute

It's really working for you, Cycloptichorn?

Yeah, I like it.

I live about 4 miles from work so it's a pretty even 8 per day, 5 days a week. It rounds out to a whole lot of calories burned that I didn't used to.

I'm 25; young to many, but I can sure feel myself getting older and have become a lot more health conscious in the last year or so (Which is to say, somewhat) and the bike helps out a lot.

I shelled out for a little computer on the bike which does a bunch of functions and I like to try to figure out how many gallons of gas I don't burn a week and funny stuff like that.

It's funny, but I've found that walking the walk of a semi-concerned environmentalist is pretty satisfying.....

Cycloptichorn

Okay, let's just hijack this thread. What seems like the best way to carry odds and ends - lunch, rainjacket, stuff like that? I'm looking at a carrier with pack over the rear wheel, backpacks (rumple my shirt) courier bags, and some sort of side pack that wouldn't look too much like a lady's handbag if you could find it in desert camo, or something like that.

Desert camo, heh

I use a courier-style bag that sits flat on my back and has an over-the-shoulder strap. It just happened to be my briefcase/laptop case before I got the bike, so I don't have a ton of experience with other bags. The nice part about the flat bag is that it doesn't flop around at all when you ride; I sometimes forget I have it on. It's also got a nice little web pocket for a water bottle.

I guess if you have a lot of hills, you should throw down a little scratch and invest in a Camelbak, which is the incomprable best for keeping yourself hydrated; a critical factor of cycling up hills in the heat...

Buy yourself a real light poncho-style jacket would be my recommendation, to save space and weight no matter what ya go with. There are even some nice designer ones available which will fold up into practically nothing and have a clean line to them if you want to go that route.

The really nice thing about cycling is that it is a workout that allows you progress at your own pace and desire; if I want to get to work the fastest and easiest way, I can, and when I feel like working more I just add some scenic detours into the route. I've discovered some beautiful parts of my town that I never knew existed which is a real plus.

Cheers

Cycloptichorn