This seems like a good idea on the face of it but here's what Snopes
has to say about it:
"....That isn't the case: gasoline is a fungible commodity, so if one
oil company's product isn't being bought up in one particular market or
outlet, it will simply sell its output to (or through) other
outlets....
.....A boycott of a couple of brands of gasoline won't result in lower
overall prices. Prices at all the non-boycotted outlets would rise due
to the temporarily limited supply and increased demand, making the
original prices look cheap by comparison. The shunned outlets could
then make a killing by offering gasoline at its "normal" (i.e.,
pre-boycott) price or by selling off their output to the non-boycotted
companies, who will need the extra supply to meet demand. The only
person who really gets hurt in this proposed scheme is the service
station operator, who has almost no control over the price of gasoline.
"
Here's the link to the web page:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp
This chain letter is based on the old notion of competition in a free
market and the consumer/citizen's ability to bend and shape it. I hate
to say it but this economy, at least as far as gasoline is concerned,
is more akin to the old company store in a one industry/one store town.
The country needs gas, they sell it, and we pay whatever they want. If
we don't want to pay, the multinational oil companies can and will find
willing customers in other parts of the world.
As far as supply and demand goes, Iraq and Iran are major suppliers,
the multinationals, through Cheney's gang of thieves, have neatly
capped Iraq's output and are now looking to get at Iran and do the
same. Squeeze the supply, increase the demand, voila!higher prices for
the remaining oil, which they'll meter out when the price is right.
I mean look at the golden parachute that guy from EXXon got.
$500,000,000.00. How long does he plan on living?
Sheesh!!!
Excerpt from a letter I received just tonight:
>GAS WAR - an idea that WILL work
>This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came
from one
>of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. It's worth your
>conside ration .
>Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $4.00 a
gallon
>by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come
down?
>We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth
offered
>this good idea.
>This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day"
>campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies
just
>laughed at that because they knew we wou! ldn't c ontinue to "hurt"
>ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us
>than it was a problem for them.
I found it quite humorous that in this one an engineer from Haliburton
came up with the "idea".
sorry for the rant
regards,
Peat
Seattle
On Apr 25, 2006, at 11:16 PM, Gnarly 505stx wrote:
> hi eveyrone
>
> i never forward internet things around, and i bet ppl on the
> Peugeot list dont much either, but this business owner in california
> had this idea that sounds good to me. it came to me from the micro car
> online group. the idea is to boycott the gas stations of the largest
> oil company, Exxon Mobil.
>
> in economic terms, the man's goal is for buyers to use the internet
> to collude.
>
> if we put a major dent in the sales of the biggest company by never
> getting gas there, the company experiences a HUGE drop in demand, and
> lowers prices. just as with airline ticket sales, the other companies
> follow.
>
> i guess this guy runs a small business in california and came up
> with the idea of circulating this. from what i know, it's just getting
> started in the last few days. he proposes never getting gas from
> exxonMobil until the price drops at least $0.80.
>
> i'm not trying to nring the ubiquitous debate on this topic into our
> Peugeot list, and i myself won't take part in discussions about the
> efficacy of this guy's idea (and may i submit to everyone that such a
> use of words is effete)...but please dont parot that so called CAUSE
> (aka buz word) of "skyrocketing demand elsewhere in the world," UNLESS
> YOU CAN START BY TELLING US THE PRECISE NUMBER OF GAS PRODUCING OIL
> REFINERIES THAT WERE SHUT DOWN IN THE USA SINCE 1995 and how that
> number compares to the total number of those functioning today.
>
>
> i never go to Exxon or Mobil stations anyway, but LOTS of people do,
> to say the least! maybe bumper stickers will be printed, as the
> message of the plan begins to spread, but the internet is the initial
> engine of the plan. Eventually, bill boards and ads may fuel the fire
> too...
>
> this guy makes a nice point about the internet being our "secret
> weapon." it's certainly true that the economic model includes no
> consideration of consumers sensing any power en masse. Certainly
> economics saw no MEANS of consumers "getting together" and acting on
> something like a collective decision, or at least a popular
> decision...and before the internet, buyers certainly had no such good
> means, but now it seems *WE* do have a really good means!
>
> hmm
> if anyone want the man's original letter, i have it.
>
> consumers can use the internet to network and fight to lower gas
> prices?
>
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Received on Wed Apr 26 00:18:17 2006
