A closer look
New Jersey strictly forbids motorists from pumping their own gasoline, maintaining a law from 1949 that claims self-service stations are an extreme fire hazard; back then, gas station owners lobbied heavily for the ban simply to prevent cheaper self-serve competitors from undercutting their profit margins, entirely weaponizing the guise of public safety; today, the state stubbornly clings to the outdated mandate, arguing that it creates thousands of minimum-wage jobs for attendants who stand in the freezing rain to pump unleaded fuel; it is uniquely absurd that an entire state treats the act of squeezing a gas pump handle as if it requires the specialized training of a certified nuclear reactor technician
