Gas boycott mark your calendars

[Pixie_Dust]

This was forwarded by my aunt and came from my cousin's workplace. The interesting thing is they live in Texas -- obviously the profits aren't "trickling down."

> Subject: Fw: Gas prices
> Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 12:10:26 -0500
>
> Message: I'm filling up today and no gas on the 19th
> - let's try it!
> Subject: Gas prices
>
> IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED
> STATES DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE
> DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD
> CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.
>
> AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE
> INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS
> WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL
> COMPANIES.
>
> THEREFORE MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED
> "STICK IT UP THEIR behind" DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF
> THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE
> THAT DAY.
>
> THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU
> FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND
> AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT.
>
> WAITING ON THIS ADMIINSTRATION TO STEP IN AND
> CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT
> HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES
> THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?
>
> REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF
> GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE
> FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING
> COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES
> WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED.
> THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING
> MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN
> THE END? WE DO!
>
> WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET
> THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN.

 

[chesirechik]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/nogas.asp


Man, this rumor is everywhere.

 

[DSNY FN]

Got that in a e mail yesterday and plan on doing this mind you it will be in Canada but still plan on doing it. Mind you we filled up today so we wouldn't need to get gas on the 19th anyhow.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I would never take anything seriously if you receive it in all caps like that.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

It's as serious as we decide it will be. So what if it was in caps; it's still a great idea. If people just pay whatever high prices are out there without ever getting together and protesting, the companies will take it as an open invitation to profit-taking and the prices will keep going up and never really come down.

 

[Nagle]

Funny you don't see people boycotting $2 per litre bottled WATER. Water for crying out loud is more expensive than gas and yet it is the big bad oil company that we all get mad at. Whatever.

 

[Divamomto3]

This is one of those email hoaxes. I actually even saw a report on the news about it. It said that one day of no gas sales would have no effect on gas prices....(I'm generalizing the story, but it definitely said it just was one of those perpetual email forwards.)
And I have gotten that last summer too.

 

[lil mermaid]

Originally posted by Nagle
Funny you don't see people boycotting $2 per litre bottled WATER. Water for crying out loud is more expensive than gas and yet it is the big bad oil company that we all get mad at. Whatever.

Or Starbucks coffee...that stuff is like $50 a gallon or something.

So you will just buy your gas on May 18 or May 20 instead...the oil companies won't even notice.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Nagle
Funny you don't see people boycotting $2 per litre bottled WATER. Water for crying out loud is more expensive than gas and yet it is the big bad oil company that we all get mad at. Whatever.

well - you have a choice with water - you don't HAVE to buy it.

but if you want to get to your place of employment - you NEED to have that gas.

see what I'm saying? If bottled water went up to $4...I'd stop buying it...I'd drink my nasty well water no problem. I only buy Starbucks as a treat (too much $$ IMO - I prefer dunking donuts french vanilla coffee personally - at $3 cheaper, heck yeah!)

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by Pixie_Dust
It's as serious as we decide it will be. So what if it was in caps; it's still a great idea. If people just pay whatever high prices are out there without ever getting together and protesting, the companies will take it as an open invitation to profit-taking and the prices will keep going up and never really come down.

It's not a great idea, it's not even a good idea. It's spam mail that has no basis in fact.q

 

[zurgswife]

All it means is everybody buys the next day or the day after.....

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Originally posted by Bob Slydell
It's not a great idea, it's not even a good idea. It's spam mail that has no basis in fact.q

If people do the boycott, the "fact" would be that they are sending a message. It does not matter if you have to buy gas the day before or after, and it doesn't matter if the companies are hit in the pocketbook. It is the message that matters. Inaction also sends a message.

 

[lil mermaid]

Originally posted by Pixie_Dust
If people do the boycott, the "fact" would be that they are sending a message. It does not matter if you have to buy gas the day before or after, and it doesn't matter if the companies are hit in the pocketbook. It is the message that matters. Inaction also sends a message.

Okay, you do it then, and let us know how it works!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

It does not matter if you have to buy gas the day before or after, and it doesn't matter if the companies are hit in the pocketbook. It is the message that matters.

And that message would be what? We can wait a day to buy gas but don't worry we'll be here tomorrow to buy some. Do you think OPEC really gives a rats behind if we boycott ONE FREAKIN DAY. No. They still get their money. Hey if you come up with an idea to get OPEC to release more oil, let me know, cuz that is the only thing that is going to make things better.

Sorry, but I am so freakin tired of these stupid Gas Boycott emails.

 

[chesirechik]

From Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/nogas.asp)

Although it went into hiding for several years, the one-day "gas out" craze is back — and with it a reminder that protest schemes that don't cost the the participants any inconvenience, hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite their dubious effectiveness. A one-day "gas out" was proposed in 1999, and a three-day-long event was called for in 2000, but both drew little participation and had no effect on retail gasoline prices because they were based upon flawed premises. This year's version is no different.

First of all, everyone's "not purchasing a drop of gasoline for one day" will not cause oil companies to "choke on their stockpiles." Oil companies run their inventories on a weekly basis, and since the "gas out" scheme doesn't call on people to buy less gasoline but simply to shift their date of purchase by one day, oil company stockpiles won't be affected at all.

Next, merely shifting the day of purchase will not "hit the entire industry with a net loss of over $4.6 billion." Consumers won't be buying any less gasoline under this "gas out" proposal; they'll simply be purchasing gas a day earlier or a day later than they usually would. The very same amount of gasoline will be sold either way, so the oil companies aren't going to lose any money at all.

By definition, a boycott involves the doing without of something, with the renunciation of the boycotted product held up as tangible proof to those who supply the commodity that consumers are prepared to do without it unless changes are made. What the "gas out" calls for isn't consumers' swearing off using or buying gasoline, even for a short time, but simply shifting their purchases by one day. Because the "gas out" doesn't call on consumers to make a sacrifice by actually giving up something, the threat it poses is a hollow one.

Not buying gas on a designated day may make people feel a bit better about things by providing them a chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices, but the action won't have any real impact on retail prices. An effective protest would involve something like organizing people to forswear the use of their cars on specified days, an act that could effectively demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline prices stay up, American consumers are prepared to move to carpooling and public transportation for the long term. Simply changing the day one buys gas, however, imparts no such threat, because nothing is being done without.

Moreover, the primary potential effect of the type of boycott proposed in the "gas out" messages is to hurt those at the very end of the oil-to-gasoline chain, service station operators — the people who have the least say in setting gasoline prices. As such, the "gas out" is a punch on the nose delivered to the wrong person.

Either apathy or an outbreak of common sense has made previous "gas outs" non-events with very low levels of participation, as documented by these snippets of news accounts from across North America:

Friday's gasoline boycott was an effort that sputtered, coughed, then died. Motorists continued to fill up gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and trucks alongside smaller vehicles despite a one-day protest aimed to pressure oil companies to lower gas prices.

Gasoline is a fungible, global commodity, its price subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand. No amount of consumer gimmickry and showmanship will lower its price in the long run; only a significant, continuous reduction in demand will accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, for many people achieving that goal would mean cutting down on their driving or opting for less desirable economy cars over less fuel-efficient models, solutions they find unappealing.

An event like a "gas out" can sometimes do some good by calling attention to a cause and sending a message. In this case, though, the only message being sent is: "We consumers are so desperate for gasoline that we can't even do without it for a few days to demonstrate our dissatisfaction with its cost." What supplier is going to respond to a message like that by lowering its prices?


***************

How many more people are going to post this here before the 19th? This is the third or fourth I've seen just on the CB.

 

[Divamomto3]

OK, but let's not flame poor Pixie Dust...she's only the messenger!

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by Divamomto3
OK, but let's not flame poor Pixie Dust...she's only the messenger!

Yes, but now she's continuing arguing this despite repeated posts showing her the logical errors in the theory.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Thanks, Divamom Now that I look at it, some of those messages were kind of mean-spirited. I appreciate the kind words

I honestly had no idea it would turn into a debate, with hostile messages on the side of higher prices! I was surprised at how much energy they expended flaming ideas that do not profit the oil business (and also apparently deluding themselves into thinking it is all OPEC and not American companies that are profiting).

I would say it is their own business if they want to throw their money away without trying to do anything about it. Unfortunately, those attitudes and choices (such as choosing to create less supply and more demand by driving SUVs) impact the prices *I* have to pay.

The person who said we need gas to get to work is absolutely correct. Gas is not a discretionary commodity at this point.

As for the person who complained about seeing this topic come up several times on this board, I haven't seen it, but obviously it is a noteworthy idea or it wouldn't keep coming up. If it bothers you, ignore it.

That's all I plan to say

 

[hydster]

I got this emailed to me...it kind of made me chuckle.....

For all you whiners of gas prices

Here is something to ease your trip to the gas pumps.........

So you think gas prices are high? Compared with Gasoline

Think a gallon of gas is expensive?


This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ........ $10.32 per gallon

Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ...........$9.52 per gallon

Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ..... $10.17 per gallon

Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ........ $10.00 per gallon

Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ........... $33.60 per gallon

Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 .. $178.13 per gallon

Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ...... $123.20 per gallon

Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ...... $25.42 per gallon

Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .........$84.48 per gallon

And this is the REAL KICKER...

Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER - and the buyers don't even know the source.


So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or God forbid Pepto Bismal or Nyquil.

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump!

Heidi

 

[Feralpeg]

Maybe I'm slow, but it makes no sense to me. So we all boycott on May 19th. Won't they just make it up the next day when we all go in for gas?