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Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure all the riches at once. But when they cut the goose open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth."

This tale tells us that we should not be greedy or the source of wealth will evaporate instantly. It is one of Aesop's fables heard by children all over the world.

Certainly, it must be the favourite tale right now for Prasert Bunsumpun, president and CEO of PTT.

After four refiners of the PTT group agreed to cut the diesel refining margin on Monday, Prasert compared PTT to an organisation that lays golden eggs so that the Finance Ministry can use them to finance daily public operations. As the oil crisis has erupted, everyone needs to take a long-term approach to deal with PTT as the company cannot continue to shoulder all the financial burdens.

"It's like we are killing this goose," Presert said. "If the goose is dead, there will be no goose or its golden eggs. Don't forget that oil companies are in a free market and PTT needs to compete with giant players like Shell, Chevron and Esso."

There is much talk about what the government should do and should not do at a time of soaring oil prices.

Consumers certainly want the cheapest fuel prices, now that food prices are also rising exorbitantly. Yet, if the government subsidises price increases, consumers would not learn to save. Forced to sell items at cheap prices, manufacturers would be discouraged from turning out good-quality products. In the worst case scenario, they may stop producing, and then consumers would need to consider which is better: costly products or no products at all.

Actually, we are experiencing that problem with LPG. At heavily-subsidised prices, drivers of LPG-fuelled cars are happy riding here and there, regardless of the suffering of other motorists who fill up their tanks with much more expensive fuel. And now Thailand has to import LPG.

It seems the LPG goose is already dead.