In New Jersey’s tight and fierce governor’s race, the Republican and Democrat seem to agree on one thing only: You shouldn’t be trusted with a gas pump. This bipartisan consensus over a Garden State quirk says more about the state—and the country—than first appears. New Jersey is the only state left in America where it is illegal to pump your own gas, a relic defended as tradition but born of protectionism. It’s not so much a local curiosity as it is a window into our national malaise—how we learned to live with inefficiency and stifle innovation, and call it consensus.
Until the 1973–74 oil embargo, full-service stations were the standard everywhere in America. Attendants would not just fill your tank, but would wash your windshield and check your oil. While the trend of allowing self-service began with legal challenges in the 1960s, major reforms occurred on the state level as Americans became more price-sensitive during the embargo. Only New Jersey has refused to adapt, disguising labor regulations and entrenched interests as cultural heritage.
The same tale can be told about many pieces of Progressive Era economic legislation. The standard story we are taught in high school is that do-gooder progressives stood up for the little guy against rapacious Big Business, and helped pass enlightened laws like the Pure Food and Drug Act establishing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The historian Gabriel Kolko, in his 1963 book The Triumph of Conservatism, turned this picture on its head by detailing how these laws were actually a result of big businesses lobbying to prevent competition. The more regulations in place, the harder it would be for start-ups to compete. New Jersey’s gas laws are a paradigmatic example.
