87 octane gas - no choice (Hurricane Harvey). Could use some advice

[Dake]

It's interesting, in our neighborhood the only gas you might find is premium; all the low and mid range stuff had been sold out.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dake

It's interesting, in our neighborhood the only gas you might find is premium; all the low and mid range stuff had been sold out.

All ok with you otherwise? The news coming out of there is brutal.

[PetrolioBenzina]

Originally Posted by Dake

It's interesting, in our neighborhood the only gas you might find is premium; all the low and mid range stuff had been sold out.

Generators and boats.

[VoltsFRS2013]

be safe!

[weederr33]

The only reason there was a shortage is because people panicked and caused a shortage. But luckily I had filled up a few days prior. I'm hoping by next week people would calm down and stopped hoarding gas.

[Teseo]

Totalled

[Somerandom18]

Your engine is going to detonate and throw all 4 rods at once.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Ultramaroon]

not rekt ☐ rekt ☑

[chaoskaze]

Stay below 3k

[gravitylover]

Prices are all over the map around here at the moment. I've seen anywhere from $2.99>$4.50/gal for premium.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by weederr33

The only reason there was a shortage is because people panicked and caused a shortage.

It's a catch 22. There doesn't have to be a shortage if the population would cooperate, with only the individuals who really need gas buying it and everyone else waiting. But if you as an individual wait and everyone else buys gas, you'll be stuck without gas. Your possible solutions are to go get gas and contribute to the shortage, or not get gas and be stuck when everyone else buys it. Therefore the individual's best solution is to buy gas, which is at odds with the best solution for the population as a whole.

This is actually called a Nash Equilibrium, named after John Nash, the guy that the movie A Beautiful Mind is about. There's a great scene in that movie where he figures out the Nash equilibrium in a bar where everybody is trying to pick up the hot girl in a group of ugly girls. All the ugly girls are blocking for the hot girl, so nobody gets laid. The only way anybody gets laid is if the guys go for the ugly girls instead, so they'll be out of the way for the last guy to get the hot girl. Then everyone gets laid. But the guys won't do that, because they see their choices as hot girl or ugly girl, and hot girl is the better choice.

I hear on the news about governors starting to "crack down" on price gouging of gasoline. That's the stupidest fucking thing they can do. The price needs to go up, so that only the people who really need gasoline buy it. It needs to be high enough that all these people trying to fill up their cars to park them in the driveway and not go anywhere will consider waiting instead, so that there will be gasoline for those who do really need it. All they do by putting a cap on the price of gas is encourage more people to rush in and buy gas before it runs out, thus contributing (and in some cases actually causing) a shortage. Free markets have ways of taking care of this kind of thing in the long run, even if it's messy.

[twdebo42]

Originally Posted by weederr33

The only reason there was a shortage is because people panicked and caused a shortage.

I'd been saying this the whole time...everyone at work was freaked out because of Facebook friends. So of course people panicked and now pretty much no where within 15 miles of me has gas either. I got lucky to get Premium on Thursday, should last me until next Friday if I'm taking it easy and only driving to work.

Glad someone else asked about running 87, admittedly I was a bit worried too in case we don't get a supply of gas soon up here.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by twdebo42

I'd been saying this the whole time...everyone at work was freaked out because of Facebook friends. So of course people panicked and now pretty much no where within 15 miles of me has gas either. I got lucky to get Premium on Thursday, should last me until next Friday if I'm taking it easy and only driving to work.

Glad someone else asked about running 87, admittedly I was a bit worried too in case we don't get a supply of gas soon up here.

More and more stations in Austin seem to be getting gas again, but I haven't checked to see if premium is in.

[why?]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

It's a catch 22. There doesn't have to be a shortage if the population would cooperate, with only the individuals who really need gas buying it and everyone else waiting. But if you as an individual wait and everyone else buys gas, you'll be stuck without gas. Your possible solutions are to go get gas and contribute to the shortage, or not get gas and be stuck when everyone else buys it. Therefore the individual's best solution is to buy gas, which is at odds with the best solution for the population as a whole.

This is actually called a Nash Equilibrium, named after John Nash, the guy that the movie A Beautiful Mind is about. There's a great scene in that movie where he figures out the Nash equilibrium in a bar where everybody is trying to pick up the hot girl in a group of ugly girls. All the ugly girls are blocking for the hot girl, so nobody gets laid. The only way anybody gets laid is if the guys go for the ugly girls instead, so they'll be out of the way for the last guy to get the hot girl. Then everyone gets laid. But the guys won't do that, because they see their choices as hot girl or ugly girl, and hot girl is the better choice.

I hear on the news about governors starting to "crack down" on price gouging of gasoline. That's the stupidest fucking thing they can do. The price needs to go up, so that only the people who really need gasoline buy it. It needs to be high enough that all these people trying to fill up their cars to park them in the driveway and not go anywhere will consider waiting instead, so that there will be gasoline for those who do really need it. All they do by putting a cap on the price of gas is encourage more people to rush in and buy gas before it runs out, thus contributing (and in some cases actually causing) a shortage. Free markets have ways of taking care of this kind of thing in the long run, even if it's messy.

The problem with this type of thinking is it assumes the flow of gas will be stable, however it is not. Major pipelines have shut down simply because they do not have gas to send. You cannot have any equilibrium when there is zero supply.

I agree about your "crack down" argument, they need to let the gas stations raise the prices high enough to be able to restock quickly and keep people from panicking, but not so high that it is obviously criminal.