Repeal the minimum markup on gas

The proposal to repeal the minimum markup on the price of gasoline in Wisconsin is a good idea.

The current law is essentially corporate welfare written into the state code. How many other businesses have this kind of mandatory price cushion given to them by the state?

"We're one of no more than a handful of states that maintain a law that came out of (the) Depression era that requires that there be an actual markup on gasoline. (What) people will notice when they come over the border from Minnesota is that there's a 10, 20, 25-percent drop. The reason is not nearly so much the tax as it is that we have the minimum markup law," Doyle said.

The minimum markup law, which has been in place since the 1930s, requires wholesalers to mark up their prices by at least 3 percent and retailers by at least 6 percent. Supporters of minimum markup say it helps prevent large companies from potentially running smaller retailers out of business.

Gov. Jim Doyle and many Republicans in the legislature appear to be on the same page on this one. At a time when commuters, truckers, families, and businesses are all being hit by the sharp increase in gas prices, now is as good a time as any to ditch this law.