Blue Oregon editor Jeff Alworth seems to have a fascination with libertarian OSU economics prof Patrick Emerson. Back in December, they were together on the trail of a sales tax (as I chronicled here, here, here, and here), and now Emerson has begun to whine about how he has to spend literally minutes a month waiting for attendants at Oregon’s gas stations. I suppose he’ll be complaining about having to pay a deposit on bottles next.
Surprisingly, for someone who’s supposed to be versed in the black arts of economics, he seems to be under the impression that gas prices would go down if the stations did away with attendents. Since AAA says that the average price of gasoline in self-service Vancouver is roughly the same price as it is here in Portland, and that gas in Ontario is actually fifteen cents cheaper than it is in Spokane, I’m not convinced.
Anyway, he’s running a poll on full-service vs. self-service gasoline at The Oregon Economics Blog. Do me a favor and go vote in his poll to maintain Oregon’s status (along with New Jersey) as a full-service state.