I'm baffled that anyone would think that's a great idea. Compelling drivers to pay someone to do something that nearly all drivers have no problem doing themselves seems absurd. Please explain your reasoning.
I wonder if GP is trolling. Having spent time in NJ visiting family, I've researched this issue a bit and have never found any logic to support the ban on self-service pumps – beyond corruption, politics, etc.
The one interesting thing I did find is that many disabled motorists have a very hard time using self-service pumps – while still being able to drive safely with vehicle modifications. The Americans with Disabilities Act even has a requirement that gas stations provide refueling assistance, with some exceptions. (http://www.ada.gov/gasserve.htm)
That still doesn't mean self-service should be banned. At most, it's argument for requiring gas stations to have >=1 full-service pump.
The other funny thing is that many NJ natives seem to really like using full-service pumps and want to keep the ban. And because they have low gas taxes and import so much fuel, NJ still has some of the cheapest gas in the country. So, there's not much political will to change it – despite the inanity.
We are rapidly moving towards making lots and lots of jobs on the low end of the skill spectrum obsolete. (and plenty of medium-to-high skill jobs as well) Non-self-service stations provide a lot of employment opportunities.
Yeah, that argument doesn't work for me. Creating arbitrary, unnecessary inefficiencies in the market does not benefit a society economically in the long-run – and is bad mechanism for wealth redistribution.
Why not ban ATM's to provide bank teller employment? Or ban self-checkout at grocery stores? Let's not forget all of those poor elevator operators out of work.
When I was a kid nearly all fuel stations were "full service." You would pull in, and an attendant would pump the fuel, check oil, clean your windows, air up tires if needed, take payment, and you never had to step out of the car. It was really nice, actually. Now you get to do all that yourself while standing out in the cold or heat, or dealing with an indifferent clerk who adds zero value to the transaction.
Mandating it is absurd. That people would go so far as incarcerate people for pumping their own gas goes way beyond resolving an inconvenience and well into normalizing bureaucratic oppression. (Yes, that sounds overstated - but really, jail time for pumping gas? it's not about the pumping, it's about something being very wrong & dangerous about the mindset that thinks jail time for pumping gas is reasonable.)
