Oil ‘Gouging’ Doesn’t Add Up

According to Marv Gonslor, higher oil company profit at Arco equates to gouging [“Where’s Payoff for Arco Customers?” Letters, Feb. 6]. I assume this means his pump price is exorbitant.

Let’s apply a little math to the discussion. If the average motorist consumes 1,000 gallons of gasoline per annum, a change of 1 cent per gallon equals a $10 increase in his annual driving costs. A 5-cents-a-gallon increase equals a $50 annual increase. I am sure his annual grocery bill sees far greater increases without a whimper.

Arco’s earnings growth rate for the past five years has been a negative 9.7%, while Procter & Gamble witnessed a positive 11.6%. You decide which was the more profitable enterprise, oil or groceries?

ROBERT PISAPIA

Westlake Village