Politicians, lawyers, and used car salesman beware: the title of most unpopular occupation in society is up for grabs.
Anyone who works at or, God forbid, runs a gas station is in for more than their fair share of abuse lately as fuel prices approach the psychological barrier of $1 per litre.
In our automobile-bound society - especially in a town such as Squamish, with a huge commuter population and spread-out neighbourhoods and services - it's almost impossible to avoid the gouging at the pump. While some people can afford to simply ditch their gas guzzler and start biking or walking around, it's simply not an option for many who work in Vancouver or Whistler or for families with busy schedules.
As a result, the people who provide the service are bearing the brunt of people's anger and frustration. While we haven't heard of anyone taking a run at a pump jockey in their 10-mile-per-gallon road yacht yet, it's clear when you talk to the people at the pumps that they're not popular.
Most people realize that it's not the fault of the person pumping their gas or standing behind the till - even if it feels like the clerk should be wearing a balaclava and pointing a gun at them. But at a time when it feels like it's more economical to not work rather than drive there, it's important to remember not to shoot the messenger - or the pump jockey.
The people who run Squamish's gas stations - or those anywhere else, for that matter - aren't rolling in piles of newfound money lately either. The typical retailer's wholesale price per litre of gasoline is generally no more than one to two cents per litre lower than the pump price.
The oft-asked question is why Squamish's prices are either in lockstep with or even sometimes higher than Vancouver's prices, despite the fact that Greater Vancouver prices include another 11 cents a litre in transit taxes that don't apply here.
The answer, of course, is because the oil companies can - and the provincial and federal governments, who get more and more in GST, PST and other taxes every time the price of fuel goes up, are not going to kill the cash cow to protect consumer interests.
With that in mind, we think it's time to revisit Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland's recent call for a regional fuel tax of our own. While advocating a new tax on gas at a time of record high prices sounds insane, consider this: if the oil companies are going to make local fuel prices on par with Greater Vancouver, we might as well take at least some of the windfall and make use of it for local transit initiatives and road improvements.
That would take some of the sting out of paying a buck a litre.
