The major oil companies are engaging in more sneaky, sleazy dirty tactics to eat up your wallet, and this time it’s happening in Kansas. The oil companies are trying to get a law passed through the Kansas legislature that will make it a crime for discounters to sell you cheap gasoline. All across the country, Americans are taking advantage of tremendous discounts available on gasoline at warehouse clubs, supermarkets and other discount stores. Wal-Mart has become a huge gas retailer, too, sometimes selling under the name “Murphy Oil.” But it’s caused people to stop being loyal to the big gas companies. To its credit, the Federal Trade Commission issued a statement, saying the bill in Kansas will harm consumers. Price-fixing gasoline serves only to rip off the public, and soon the idea will spread to other states. That’s the scary part. We need to make a statement and buy gasoline from the cheapest source we can find. And we need to let our representatives know we don’t appreciate their involvement in fixing prices. What else can you do? First of all, when you’re on the freeway, slow down. When you increase your speed, your fuel consumption rises dramatically. Don’t start and stop your car all the time. Also, it’s hard to believe, but rolling down the windows when you drive eats up more gas than running the air conditioning. The drag coefficient that occurs from the wind means your car has to work harder to get you where you’re going.