May 9, 2007
Easily resolved legal blunder
A merchant in Wisconsin has fallen afoul of Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which sets minimum prices for gasoline. Whether or not this is a good idea is left as an exercise for the reader, but it is unquestionable that the states are allowed to do this kind of thing (the federal government probably can but would have a much more difficult time).
Anyways, the merchant was offering a discount to senior citizens and people who supported local extracurricular sports teams. A worthy endeavor, but prohibited by state law. The Wis. Dept. of Agriculture sent him a nastygram saying that he'd face legal action if he continued the practice.
Fortunately, there is an easy way of getting around this. Keep selling gas at uniform prices, and instead of offering a discount as such, offer gift cards with bonuses attached. There's actually an organization, Scrip, that does this kind of thing for schools, etc. You drop, say $100 on grocery cards through the school, which are good for $100 in groceries at the issuing store, but the store then gives the school a cut of your spending. You don't pay any less for gas/food/what-have-you, but your spending also benefits the organization of your choice.
