Thank goodness the government stopped this illegal . . .

. . . sale of gasoline below cost:

This month, King Soopers and City Market (both owned by Kroger) were forced by a federal jury decision to cut out a program called Buy Groceries/Get Gas — which offered consumers modest savings on gas purchases.

Two "independent" gasoline stations in Montrose brought the suit and were awarded $1.4 million in damages. The jury found the big stores had violated Colorado's Unfair Practices Act, illegally selling gas below cost.

Yes, King Soopers was selling gasoline too cheap. It's illegal.

So let's quickly review an old economics adage: Charge too much and you're price gouging. Charge too little and you're predatory pricing. Charge the same as your competitor and you're in collusion.

We should all be grateful to those bold politicians, who realized that it should be illegal to sell an essential product like gasoline below cost! And even more, to the noble and public-spirited competitors who grassed them to the authorities!

Had it been left unchallenged, who knows how low these economic hoodlums would have been willing to go?