The Unconscionably Ridiculous "Unfair Sales Act"

Update: I reported in May about a gas station owner in Wisconsin named Raj Bhandari who got in trouble with state bureaucrats because his gas prices were "too low," at a time when gas prices were actually at an historical high (see chart above, click to enlarge), and everybody was complaining about gas prices being TOO HIGH.

Bhandari, who owns Center City BP in Merrill, Wis., 150 miles north of Madison, was ordered by Wisconsin state regulators in late April to stop offering discounts of 2 cents per gallon to senior citizens and 3 cents per gallon for donors to a youth hockey league, because the programs violated the law. The state's "Unfair Sales Act" makes it illegal for retailers to sell gasoline without marking it up 6% over what they paid or 9.18% over the local wholesale price - whichever is higher. Violators face stiff fines from regulators, and can be sued by competitors for selling gas too cheap.

Raj filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to overturn a 1930s state law requiring retailers to mark up the price of gas. "I should be allowed to give whatever discounts I want to give to the people in order to run my business," Bhandari said, and his lawyer added, "Entrepreneurs and consumers - not state bureaucrats - are in the best position to decide the price of gas."

Yeah, and here I thought politicians and bureaucrats were worried about gas prices being too high, not too low! After all, the House just voted 282-141 to pass the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act to protect consumers against gas prices that are TOO HIGH!

(HT: Society and Money)