Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Chapter 12 Blog

Cash Discount For Gas Is A Joke

http://www.courant.com/news/local/columnists/hc-ubinas1005.artoct05,0,423379.column

The article is roughly about a lady named Tracy Brown talking about how gas prices are so high that the government had to step in and create a bill, designed specifically to help consumers buy lower price gas, so they don't have to worry as much. The bill allowed gas pumps to offer cash discounts to people. This didn't really help much at all. The speaker found herself pulling over to a gas station because it was promoting attractive gas prices. She later found out that by using a credit card she would have to pay an extra 10 cents. Apparently the discounts, on this particular gas station only worked if you used cash. She goes on saying that not everyone has the money to buy gas at the prices they are at now. Some of these gas companies only use the discounts to advertise their gas, even though many people don't pay for their gas by using cash. Nearing the end of the article she talks to one of the heads of the gasoline retailers association, Michael J Fox. He says that the consumers are to narrow minded to realize that they are not getting hit as bad as the oil companies are and he ends it at that.

This article has some connections to chapter 12. The one I found to be the most obvious connection would be that the credit card companies would have to charge the user of the cards if they used it to purchase something. This would count as sales or revenue account and the accountants would have to places the transaction in the appropriate journal. I know one thing, credit card companies are usually fairly big, and because of that they must use the five journaling system. This would be the same for the gas corporations that she mentioned. Since they gave discounts they would have to adjust whatever needs to be adjusted.

I actually agree with the head of the gasoline retail association personal. The consumers aren't being hit the most if you think about it. When the demand of the gas out weigh the supply, the prices must go up at an exponential rate. If this keeps on going on, the prices would soon be so high that the worst of cars would be a luxury item. Once that happens the gas company is doomed to go out of business. Now that I think about it the ultimately the one who suffers are actually the consumers, because if the gas company goes out of business than all those employees wouldn't have a job. That’s literally millions of people on the street. With those many people without a job the economy of the country would go down into depression rates. If the country is a big world player than the world might sink into a depression as well. This would ultimately hurt the consumers.