Posted by Rick Pearson at 6:45 pm CDT
This just in, from Chicago, where the national association of state attorneys general is meeting, and the generals are abuzz about the letter from the Bush Justice Department in Washington today calling on all generals to watch for gasoline price-gouging.
They're already on the case, some say.
Indiana Att'y. Gen. Steve Carter, president of the National Association of Attorneys General, welcomed U.S. Att'y Gen. Alberto Gonzales’ letter, with Carter saying that individual state prosecutors already have been looking into allegations of price gouging since Hurricane Katrina struck last fall.
“All AG’s have become pretty attuned to price gouging on gasoline,” said Carter, a Republican, who was in Chicago for the group’s national conference.
“Frankly, it’s a national market and it’s good that the federal government is paying attention,'' Carter said, "because it’s unlikely that a particular state office has the resources or the jurisdiction.”
Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, a Democrat, noted that in the joint letter from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission chairman the feds contend “they have substantially increased their efforts at the federal level” to investigate price gouging.
“But,” she said, “to the best of my knowledge they’ve done nothing at this point.”
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Comments
The state attorney generals are on the watch--for a cheap "price-gouging" headline. And some free publicity from reporters who should know better, but evidently don't.
There is one and only one thing a state government can do in the short run to lower gas prices--lower state gas taxes. And that they won't do, because the politicians love to spend the gas tax money.
Posted by: Bruce | April 26, 2006 9:04 AM