The Institute For Justice Challenges Wisconsin's Anti-Competition Gas Pricing

The Institute For Justice reports:

Raj Bhandari is everything you would want an entrepreneur to be. He is innovative, self-sufficient and dedicated to giving back to his community. And in Wisconsin, his hard work has led the state to brand him an outlaw.



Raj owns a gas station in Merrill, Wis., which he purchased in 2006 and brought back from the brink of bankruptcy by offering high-quality service and building strong ties with the local community. One of the ways he improved his relationship with his customers was by offering public-spirited discounts: one for senior citizens and one for people who donated to support a local youth hockey league. The discounts were a hit, and Raj was doing what entrepreneurs are supposed to do: making money for himself by providing something of value to his community.



Unfortunately, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection informed Raj that he risks tens of thousands of dollars in fines for his innovation because in Wisconsin, it is illegal to sell gasoline without a mandatory markup of between 6 percent and 9.18 percent. Even as consumers nationwide are struggling with high gas prices, the state of Wisconsin is imposing anti-competitive regulations to make those prices even higher.

The law that scuttled Raj’s discounts is Wisconsin’s Unfair Sales Act, a relic of the 1930s that makes it illegal to sell gasoline without adding an arbitrary minimum markup over the average local wholesale price. The law also makes it illegal to sell any merchandise below “cost.”

What ever happened to "liberty of contract" in this country? As you can see,many government officials want artificially high prices:especially when a tax is applied to those high prices.Time to separate government from gas prices.