Posted 7/14/2008

GAS STATIONS UNDER WATER (JOBS TOO)

There were several gas stations put under water by the flood waters of the Mississippi.

But thousands more have been destroyed by the rising flood of oil prices. In the last year, more than 3,000 gas stations have been put out of business by the high price of gasoline.

Fifty years ago, a boy could graduate from high school, get a factory job, marry and support a family.

A single girl could take the business course in high school and find nine or ten good jobs waiting for her – secretary, stenographer, bookkeeper and clerk.

And a young person with some capital could buy and operate a gas station – a key entry level of capitalism.

But now those entrepreneurial opportunities are disappearing, along with the factory jobs and the secretarial positions.

Soon there won't be good jobs, good positions or good businesses for those with a high school degree. Today's high school grads need two incomes just to keep above the poverty line. Can child labor be far behind?

New York alone has lost over 200 gas stations. Sparsely populated North Dakota has lost 135. Even mighty ExxonMobil can't make money selling gasoline at retail. Rather than support its gas station employees, the oil(y) giant is attempting to sell its stations. (At ExxonMobil, stockholders are more highly valued than lower-level employees.)

Shouldn't gas station operators be making more money off the rising price of gas?

Gasoline prices have roared up more than 40% in the last year.

But oil prices have increased more than 100% – putting a big squeeze on gas stations' operating margins.

Gas station margins were about 21 cents a gallon last July. Now they have sunk to only 15 cents. The owner has to pay all his operating costs out of that 15 cents. And 15 cents a gallon is not enough to survive on, especially with the credit card companies taking about 10 of those cents away in fees. (When gas was $2 a gallon, the credit card companies took only a nickel a gallon). Many station owners are using up their savings trying to keep their businesses going.

Uncle Sam is some kind of magician.

He can make jobs and businesses disappear like nobody else in history.

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