Commissar Perdue

Little did I know when writing last night's post defending so-called price gouging that Commissar Sonny Perdue was in the process of signing an executive order authorizing fines against price gougers! What does this mean, exactly? No one seems to know:

The governor gave no specific examples of price gouging but said prices at some stations rose from $3 per gallon to $5 and $6 per gallon by Wednesday afternoon. He acknowledged consumers may not always know if they are being gouged as gas prices change. "You just have to report this and our Office of Consumer Affairs will investigate," he said.

Meanwhile, "price gouging" was working exactly as I described in my last post:

John Harper, an east Cobb County resident, pulled up to a gas station in Stockbridge Wednesday evening when he saw an enticing empty parking lot. He promptly turned around once he the manager told him the gas prices - $5.87 for a gallon of unleaded fuel. "It's highway robbery," Harper said. He was one of a half-dozen people who left after pulling up to the station. Soon after, the gas station manager decided to lower the gas prices by $2 a gallon.

And stations that weren't "price gouging", including the Kroger station behind our house, ran out of gas:

Police in Sandersville had to direct traffic during a mid-morning rush on the pumps after two small stations ran out of gas, Police Chief John Harden said. In Washington, long lines for gas stretched into the town's main street, disrupting traffic.