(Newser)
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Stiff fuel prices are not pouring cash into the pockets of California gas station owners—instead, they're driving them into bankruptcy. Credit card fees, tanker-load costs, and other rapidly increasing expenses are putting the crunch on retailers, reports the Los Angeles Times.
In LA, where the average retail price is $4.41 a gallon (and the break-even price is $4.62 a gallon), some station owners are voluntarily going without pay to avoid collapse. "In the past four months, 10 of the dealers to whom I supply motor fuel have relinquished to me the deeds to their businesses," a supplier told Congress last month.
