Gasoline prices in Newfoundland and Labrador went up on Thursday.
Now gasoline sells as a commodity separately from crude, but still, there's something slightly perverse about a jump in retail prices at a time when prices for both commodities are declining across North America both on current sales and on futures. At best, in the short term, prices are staying level, but except in very rare circumstances are they increasing in major centres.
Sure there was a jump yesterday, but the public utilities board's gas fixing scheme isn't sensitive enough to pick up a change a day before it's regular price adjustment. Beyond that the futrues price for gasoline is about one dollar a gallon below current retail prices, even after the eight cent jump.
On top of that analysts don't expect that jump to last with the cotinued drop in American demand.
So what gives?
Essentially you have an entrenched bureaucracy which, if it does nothing else, will work hard to justify its existence. Take a look at the scheme's website and you won't see a definition of a positive public policy enefit there anywhere: the board exists to enforce the Act that created it. That's it. Justifying that existence is pretty easy, but the justification only makes sense in the world of bureaucracy; heck there's probably a buggy whip safety agency out there somewhere still enforcing its legislation.
Meanwhile, over on the political side, there isn't a single politican on the ogvernment benches will to tackle the issue. The issue isn't important enough to merit attention by the Premier's office since, for the most part consumers haven't kicked up a fuss yet.
If it isn't being talked up on the voice of the cabinet minister, cabinet's can't hear it.
Maybe that's the key: If people realised that the provincial government sets gasoline prices in Newfoundland and Labrador, then maybe they'd start pressing the provincial government to scrap the gasoline pricing fixing scheme.
If they started making that cry on the Great Oracle of the Valley, then just maybe there'd be some action.
Don't count on it though. There are too many established political interests behind this scam to let it go that easily.
If publicly outcry was enough, the provincial government still wouldn't be pursuing its illegal policy on the Memorial University president, enabled by the board of regents.
-srbp-