Author Topic: Gas Boycott.. a good idea? And WHO? (Read 1193 times)

Hangtime · « **Reply #15 on:** April 14, 2006, 10:14:50 AM »

Westy, I stopped buying from the majors retail outlets years ago. I suspect they still get my money because I never bothered to trace back who's in their distribution chain.

I like the sentemint though.. at least your trying to do something!!

BigGun · « **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2006, 10:19:39 AM »

I suggest everyone boycott gas, and sooner the better. Maybe if you do it won't cost me as much to fill up the wife's suburban this weekend.

Airscrew · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2006, 10:20:21 AM »

Hang I got the same email, they showup about every 6 months it seems.
The only way I can see we could mess with the oil companies is what Reschke said. Except go one step further.

A nationwide strike. probably unrealistic but it might work. everybody just call in sick, for a week. Dont buy any gas, only purchase essential items, no movies, no eating out. Imagine 150 million or more people just dont go to work.

indy007 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2006, 10:50:33 AM »

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Originally posted by Hangtime
Whelp.. in forgien policy showdowns, Sanctions are the agreed upon action.. first.

This sounds to me like selecting the biggest abuser (and most profitable) and singling them out for a lil economic sanction. Intelligent investors would recognize they got their wad in the wrong hole, extract it and stick it someplace else. A few thousand job losses at Company X? How about the economic hardships the Raping Fuel Company X is foisting on us right now?

Mmm, well, got some statistics? How much impact would it have? A single F-16 burns more fuel in an hour than I do annually. Will delivery business jump on board, or continue to get their fuel from the cheapest supplier? Are there simply too many variables to be overcome by the % of the population that rallies behind the idea? What is the neccessary % to have the required economic impact? Can't have a movement without a definate goal (edit: otherwise you're just another hippy at the drum circle

)

BluKitty · « **Reply #19 on:** April 14, 2006, 11:00:58 AM »

Citgo can be a good choice

this about a year old now.... but.

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Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm

midnight Target · « **Reply #20 on:** April 14, 2006, 12:05:07 PM »

Our company president acually sent this idea out to everyone in the firm. That is a lot of people. It says to boycott Exxon/Mobile.

I think it could work. If they (Exxon) lose sales they will have to lower prices to compete. If the people gaining business raise prices they will cut their own throats and lose it back to Exxon... Price war... woot!

BigGun · « **Reply #21 on:** April 14, 2006, 12:29:29 PM »

Exxon recent post profits are the largest of any company ever, in the history of corporate earnings. I think they have some reserves to ride out the boycott storm for quite a while.

Hangtime · « **Reply #22 on:** April 14, 2006, 12:44:15 PM »

Well... doing nothing has a certain outcome.

Boycotting Exxon-Mobil and Shell has the potential of doing something. Who are Shell and Exxon-Mobil's subsidiarys? Who else is in their supply chain.. and what companies do they control/own?

Since I've not bought their gas from their flagship stores, I'd also like to cut off my funds from their corporate interests..

Who are they?

Maverick · « **Reply #23 on:** April 14, 2006, 05:00:15 PM »

Go buy from the no name distributer and flaunt it to Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Shell, Amaco etc. and it will accomplish nothing. Who do you think the no name distributers buy their gas from?

Want to drop fuel prices? Walk, ride a bicycle stay home whatever. If enough people around the WORLD do that and there is a significant drop in fuel usage then maybe, not likely but maybe OPEC will cut it's per barrel price. The most likely result is that the remaining fuel not purchased by the US will simply be sold to another nation.

If nothing else, if you do not drive you do not need to buy ga, therefore YOUR fuel costs will go down.

Toad · « **Reply #24 on:** April 14, 2006, 05:23:44 PM »

I know... let's blow up the Exxon refineries! No more profit for THEM!

.....oops.... wait a second.... that might not work either.

Hangtime · « **Reply #25 on:** April 14, 2006, 05:58:00 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Maverick
Go buy from the no name distributer and flaunt it to Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Shell, Amaco etc. and it will accomplish nothing. Who do you think the no name distributers buy their gas from?

Want to drop fuel prices? Walk, ride a bicycle stay home whatever. If enough people around the WORLD do that and there is a significant drop in fuel usage then maybe, not likely but maybe OPEC will cut it's per barrel price. The most likely result is that the remaining fuel not purchased by the US will simply be sold to another nation.

If nothing else, if you do not drive you do not need to buy ga, therefore YOUR fuel costs will go down.

So thats it.. do nothing, use less, your costs will go down?

Ok.. I have cut my costs. No unnecessary trips. Had to go to Toledo last weekend.. annual trip for the R/C expo. Been going for 20 years. Gotta go.. I'm a vendor. Always drove. This year, I took AMTRAK. Pain in the butt, but I didn't buy 250 bucks worth of gas.

Guess what. Gas prices still went up. Know what? I think that showing my displeasure with the gas companies by singling out a distributor/supplier and boycotting it would be better than plunging my head up my bellybutton and saying 'won't help if we boycott'.

At least I'm doing SOMETHING to strike back at what I consider to be a corporate rape job by big business.

So.. sit on the sidelines. Twiddle yer thumbs. Point at me and say 'Fool.. your not accomplishing a damn thing'... that may be true.. but I'm standing up and exercising my American Right to Take my Business Elsewhere rather than doing 'nothing'.

Now.. does anybody have any suggestions on which companies to boycott? Some majors are running ads on what they are doing to research and advance 'alternative energy'. Some may be deeply involved in charity/philanthropic endeavors... some may be just carting the profits outta the country.

I wanna know who the worst abusers are.. and I wanna go after them.

Any suggestions on a suitable scurvy rapist oil company that is fully deserving of the wrath of an outraged american?

Thanks.

eskimo2 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 14, 2006, 06:10:18 PM »

I won’t join in because it would be as immoral as… say… price fixing…?

WAIT A MINUTE! Every gas station in town has exactly the same price and when one goes up, they all go up… Their costs must be identical. Hmm? No, I trust big oil; they are on our side and are looking out for us.

Apparently the biggest problem is, too few people get it. It really is price fixing from the consumers’ end.

The key would be organization and communication; everyone in an area is told/agrees not to buy from Brand X until their price is 8 cents cheaper than their competitors. Brand X gets little business and caves in. They mark their price down and down until it hits 8 cents cheaper than their competitors. Then, everyone buys from Brand X until the others match Brand X’s price. At that point everyone boycotts Brand X again, and so on.

Nashwan · « **Reply #27 on:** April 15, 2006, 05:53:35 AM »

What makes you think oil companies will sell oil and oil products to you for less than they can sell them to another country?

Oil production is running close to limits. Oil demand is high, and rising. There are threats to the medium term supplies (eg Iraq, and especially any action against Iran)

All those go to make oil expensive. People are prepared to pay high prices, and the owners of the oil will naturally sell it for what they can get. If you want to cut prices, cut demand, increase supply, or remove threats to future supply (or all 3).

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The key would be organization and communication; everyone in an area is told/agrees not to buy from Brand X until their price is 8 cents cheaper than their competitors.

Good luck cutting 8 cents out of the refining/distribution/marketting side of the equation. The problem is the costs in those areas are very low, and profits are low, as well.

The profit is in supplying crude at the moment. Crude oil is very expensive, and if you own a well, you can sell the output for far more than you could a few years ago. Hence, big profits.

But if you want to cut those profits, you have to work out a way to make people sell the US oil at less than the market rate. You have to make them say, ok, we'll sell you oil at $50 a barrel, and say to the Chinese, Germans, Japanese etc no, we won't sell it to you for $70 a barrel.

Why should they?

If the price of housing goes up in your area, do you sell your house for the market rate, or sell it for what you paid for it?

mora · « **Reply #28 on:** April 15, 2006, 06:13:15 AM »

Get a more fuel efficient vehicle, one that runs on Diesel. And pressure the politicians to change fuel tax policies so that the pump prices will reflect real production costs, and start taxing new vehicles by their fuel consumption and use that money on alternate energy research.

Sounds commie? It's the only thing that will work.

Excel1 · « **Reply #29 on:** April 15, 2006, 07:39:47 AM »

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Originally posted by BigGun
Exxon recent post profits are the largest of any company ever, in the history of corporate earnings. I think they have some reserves to ride out the boycott storm for quite a while.

heh.. nicly understated

Exxon's 2005 profit USD $36 billion

They are a long way from being on the bones of their arse.

They should go shopping, diversify, after all the oil ain't going to last for ever.

I know where there are 3 sub topical islands and 40 million sheep going cheap if they are interested.

Excel