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[Reason] Illinois Bill Would Ban Adults From Pumping Their Own Gas

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Os Trigonum, Feb 12, 2020.

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  1. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    more in the "those crazy Dems" department:

    https://reason.com/2020/02/12/illinois-bill-would-ban-adults-from-pumping-their-own-gas/

    Illinois Bill Would Ban Adults From Pumping Their Own Gas
    Rep. Camille Lilly, who authored the bill, says her legislation will lead to more safety, convenience, and jobs.

    Christian Britschgi | 2.12.2020 11:10 AM

    The free market experiment of letting people pump their own gas is over. It failed. That appears to be the message behind a new piece of Illinois legislation that would prohibit self-service gas stations.

    "No gas may be pumped at a gas station in this State unless it is pumped by a gas station attendant employed at the gas station," reads the Gas Station Attendant Act, which was introduced last week by state Rep. Camille Lilly (D–Oak Park).

    Should it pass, Illinois would join New Jersey as the only other state in the union to prohibit self-service gas stations. Oregon allows self-service gas stations in counties of less than 40,000 people but maintains prohibitions everywhere else in the state. A bill to allow gas stations in the Beaver State to designate a quarter of their pumps as self-service failed in 2019.

    Lilly's proposal has raised eyebrows. The representative told a columnist with Peoria's JournalStar that the response to her bill had been "really aggressive."

    In an attempt to quell some of this outrage, Lilly took to Twitter. Her bill, she said, would create "safety and convenience at the pump." She also has said that it is her intention to amend the bill to merely mandate minimum staffing levels at gas stations.

    Increasing safety is the best justification for Lilly's bill. It's still not a very good one.

    According to a study from the National Fire Protection Association, there were 5,000 gas station fires per year between 2004 and 2008, which resulted in an average of two deaths a year and $20 million in property damage. That seems like a pretty small risk given that there were 117,000 gas stations in the country at the time. The number of gas station fires has also fallen dramatically since 1980, the NFPA notes, even as self-service has become more common.

    There's also not much reason to assume that a gas station attendant who's responsible for filling up multiple cars at once is going to be more careful than individual motorists.

    While drivers in the states that still mandate full-service like to talk up the convenience of not having to get out of their car, the fact that the practice doesn't persist when it's not mandated is proof enough that people are not willing to pay the costs of this higher level of service.

    The Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank, notes that motorists in that state are already paying the third-highest gas taxes in the country.

    Self-service stations can also create convenience in other ways. The fewer staff members needed to man the pumps mean businesses can reassign employees to manning registers, making food, or performing other tasks their customers value more.

    Lower operating costs at self-service gas stations might also mean gas stations can afford to stay open later or operate in more remote locations, where business is slower. Oregon's legalization of self-service pumps in rural counties was all about increasing service levels in remote areas of the state where it wasn't economical to have a gas station attendant on hand 24 hours a day.

    Lilly's desire to create jobs is also a poor justification for either banning self-service gas stations or mandating staffing levels.

    The more consumers have to pay for a service they don't want, the less money they have to spend on other things that they do want. Higher staffing costs leave gas stations with less money to pay vendors or reinvest in their businesses.

    The effect is to make the economy poorer and less productive. That's not a win for capital, labor, or consumers.

    The one silver lining in Illinois' proposal is how much people hate it. In Oregon and New Jersey, motorists have strong negative reactions to rolling back their state's full-service mandates. Illinois residents are clearly having the opposite reaction.

    This demonstrates the small-c conservativism of many voters; once people have the right to do something, they are not eager to lose it.

    ​
     
    #1 Os Trigonum, Feb 12, 2020
  2. Major

    Major Member

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    I think you meant to say "that one crazy Dem" department. Unless you're just showing your true colors.
     
    #2 Major, Feb 12, 2020
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  3. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    you must have missed some of the earlier installments in the series, e.g.,

    and this one:

     
    #3 Os Trigonum, Feb 12, 2020
  4. Andre0087

    Andre0087 Member

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    Would be nice to get one stickied thread for all our idiot politicians...
     
    #4 Andre0087, Feb 12, 2020
  5. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    #5 SamFisher, Feb 12, 2020
  6. Rashmon

    Rashmon Contributing Member

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    Fixed it for the rest of us
     
    #6 Rashmon, Feb 12, 2020
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  7. Andre0087

    Andre0087 Member

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    lol no one even tried to tell him Alphabet is the parent company of Google...
     
    #7 Andre0087, Feb 12, 2020
    Major likes this.
  8. Buck Turgidson

    Buck Turgidson Member

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    117K gas stations seems like an unbelievably low number.
     
    #8 Buck Turgidson, Feb 12, 2020
  9. Ottomaton

    Ottomaton Contributing Member
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    People in Oregon apparently love this **** from the admittedly limited number I've spoken with.

    As has been pointed out, there could be an equally insane "those crazy Repubs" thread, with all the crazy **** that Republican state reps introduce that never gets made into law, but nobody here but Democrat Os is that interested in that sort of naked propagandizing. I'm guessing if he didn't have The Federalist or Reason serving it up to him on a platter, he wouldn't be interested in digging it out, either.
     
    #9 Ottomaton, Feb 12, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2020
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  10. Newlin

    Newlin Member

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    Fill it up with regular!

    I remember those days. It probably was safer, definitely more convenient, and did create more jobs. Can’t argue with any of that.

    I’ll also take a case of cokes. And I have some bottles I need to return.
     
    #10 Newlin, Feb 12, 2020
    R0ckets03 likes this.
  11. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    I can't wait for this to happen! Can I subscribe to your newsletter @Os Trigonum ?
     
    #11 Invisible Fan, Feb 12, 2020
  12. Andre0087

    Andre0087 Member

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    Reminded me of this video of Standard Oil...now if they bring it back like this sign me up!

     
    #12 Andre0087, Feb 12, 2020
  13. Buck Turgidson

    Buck Turgidson Member

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    Well, and you would actually get "full service" by someone who knew what they were doing: check tires, check oil, clean windshields, etc.... Paying a premium just for someone to pump my gas is ridiculous.
     
    #13 Buck Turgidson, Feb 12, 2020
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  14. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    Sounds like she is backtracking big time

    https://www.chicagotribune.com/subu...0200212-dd32glabmnft5ccbb3pduayove-story.html
     
    #14 Sweet Lou 4 2, Feb 12, 2020
  15. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

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    I personally know people from Oregon that hate this (they've had it for years). The number one reason? It adds ~$0.40-0.50 a gallon to the price. The jobbers that own the stations are usually small business owners and they pass along the extra labor cost to you.
     
    #15 Supermac34, Feb 12, 2020
  16. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    He has a track record of doing this. After all that's what any old school Democrat would do.
     
    #16 FranchiseBlade, Feb 12, 2020
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  17. white lightning

    white lightning Contributing Member

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    I haven't found this to be the case. Gas is usually cheaper in OR than WA, even taking into account the different state fuel taxes. Not close to .40 to .50 premium. Generally, they are not giving you any extra service, apart from the occasional windshield wiping, but it's pretty nice on cold and wet days to not have to leave your car.
     
    #17 white lightning, Feb 12, 2020
  18. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    I feel he does use this to try to portray democrats in a negative light as a whole. If you were to take one action of a Republican like this you could claim the party was an extension of the KKK.
     
    #18 Sweet Lou 4 2, Feb 12, 2020
  19. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    These things might once have seemed crazy. But in today's atmosphere they just aren't. They don't compare. These are from people who have little hope to ever get the measures passed and aren't representative of a any significant portion of the party at all.

    Meanwhile we have a leader of the free world who believes that Fredrick Douglass is alive and well, and that the leader of North Korea is a good trustworthy guy because of a beautiful letter he wrote. He doesn't understand the role of the different branches of government or care about the jobs within his own branch. He is ignorant of what state the city of the super bowl champions is a part of.

    But all of those crazy things are accepted and/or applauded by the majority of his party. So it doesn't matter what silly things you post about Dems. It just isn't that wacky anymore. There would have been a time when it might have been funny. But everything you've posted from a Democrat is infinitely more sane than the things that actually are enacted by the siting president.

    If I a kid made a funny face that would have once caused hysterical laughter makes the face but is standing next to a 14 foot 9 year-old with 5 arms, then that funny face doesn't make an impression. Too bad you are ignoring the 14 foot child with 5 arms.
     
    #19 FranchiseBlade, Feb 12, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2020
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  20. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Being racist and xenophobic is “moderate” and “reason”able.

    Remember when rules used to be followed? Pepperidge Farms and Good Ol Boys remembers.
     
    #20 Invisible Fan, Feb 13, 2020
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