Gas Pump Paradox

In his letter (June 6), Robert H. Paschall commented about “how irrational people are about the price of gasoline, and how the California attorney general’s investigation of the recent price rise is a pure political circus.” What was irrational was how he arrived at his conclusion by adding prices of elements of a trip together and comparing that total to the much smaller cost of the gasoline used.

I recently traveled to Oregon and Arkansas, and, not surprisingly, the price of gasoline in those two places was dramatically different from prices in Southern California, such as $1.35 or $1.45. In Arkansas, the price varies from 99 cents to $1.03 per gallon. In Oregon the prices mirror those here, although there is no self-service there.

What are the reasons for these disparities, 40% and more? I would hope that the explanation boils down to something other than the relative flushness of an inhabitant of Irvine versus Arkansas.

FLOYD M. ZULA

Fullerton