Comments on: Will a gas boycott work?

By: b

Sat, 10 May 2008 07:03:41 +0000

Hello my name is Carlo. I have a suggestion for people trying to boycott gas. Instead of trying to boycott certain companies for a few days we should try to organize a weekend boycott of gas every week world wide. All people would have to do is walk a little more on the weekends and would still be able to get to work, and school on weekdays. This would lower the companies profits and lower our dependency on gas.

PS. I suggest you watch a movie called “Who Killed the Electric Car”

By: John, San Diego CA

John, San Diego CA — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:22:11 +0000

Had enough of the “Price gouging”. Yes I said Price gouging! Boycott all the Exxon/Mobil stations in your area. When these stations start closing, I’ll bet congress will do something to bring this mess under control.

By: co, cinti, oh

co, cinti, oh — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:14:05 +0000

Do not just boycott gas, Boycott buying new cars for 1 year. Do not buy a new car for 1 year

By: R.B. new york city n.y.

R.B. new york city n.y. — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:42:11 +0000

we need to boycott not just one company but all on that day plain and simple do not drive or buy gas that one day out of the week and that will send a very clear message that we have had enough of this price and demand slavery they are inflicting on the consumer.

By: Kevin, Tulsa OK

Kevin, Tulsa OK — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:27:03 +0000

besides the absurdity of this email (which i recieved a week or so ago) and all of its misleading figures and contradictions to basic economics, another way to look at it is the fact that America is facing far greater problems than rising gas prices. instead of forwarding (or even originating) these asanine emails, why don’t these activists focus on boycotting big media that lies perpetually to the american public, or voting out of office corrupt politicians, or pushing for changes in our tax code that counters the concept “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” i think those areas deserve more attention than trying to cut into the profit margin of some “evil” capitalist oil company.

as a side note, the average profit margin of the top 14 oil companies in Fortune 500 was only 6% while the top 33 insurance companies (property and casualty (stock)) had an average profit margin of 12% Dangit – i guess we need to boycott the insurance companies for a day and not use insurance for a day. Lets say…. May 22…

By: steve pozzi,wilmington,il.

steve pozzi,wilmington,il. — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:05:51 +0000

boycott won’t work but if we called work and told them we couldn’t make it in because we can’t afford to drive the hit on the economy for the day may make them think.i have to drive 80 miles a day and don’t know how long i can spend over $100 week on gas.it may be cheaper not to work.

By: WW, Cincinnati, OH

WW, Cincinnati, OH — Wed, 16 May 2007 20:41:20 +0000

A nationwide boycott one of the major suppliers for a week would bring down the price of gas at those stations. If need be to keep it working, do it again to the same or different supplier.

By: Frank Hartman, Gulfport, ms

Frank Hartman, Gulfport, ms — Wed, 16 May 2007 20:00:38 +0000

No a one day boycott will not work, but a good old fashion gas war will, we should start with exxon, buy elsewhere for the next 6 months, and let them choke on their stock, gas does go bad.

By: David Phillips, Pembroke Pines, Florida

David Phillips, Pembroke Pines, Florida — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:37:25 +0000

A boycott will not work for one day, but I did not buy gas yesterday like alot of other people. But, what will work is if we boycott one company like Exxon-Mobil. Remember what happened about 15-20 years ago, when the Exxon tanker had the oil spill in Alaska. People in many parts of the country stopped buying Exxon gas because they weren’t doing their part for the clean-up. Exxon stations all over south Florida went out of buisness. So if everyone boycotts Exxon-Mobil and buys gas from other stations, this will make Exxon Mobil react and lower their prices. Now, the key is to wait until they lower their prices down below $2.00, maybe somewhere around $1.50 a gallon. This will happen because of supply and demand. While Exxon-Mobil is lowering their prices, other companies will have to follow. Again the key is to be patient and wait until it gets down to $1.50. Once it reaches that level we can start buying from them.

By: Annetet Marsh, Fort Meade, Florida

Annetet Marsh, Fort Meade, Florida — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:15:02 +0000

Well, it certainly won’t hurt to try to get their attention. After all, they can’t survive without the consumer purchasing their product, now can they? I am hard pressed to understand how the CEO’s of the large oil companies can command such large bonuses at the working man’s expense! I don’t imagine it is hurting their wallets to pay the prices, but what about the rest of us?

By: Carol, Bloomington, IL

Carol, Bloomington, IL — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:06:41 +0000

One way to use less gas and therefore lower gas prices is to DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT all the time. Everyone’s car would use less gas if they just slowed down!

By: Jim, Arlington Heights, IL

Jim, Arlington Heights, IL — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:03:31 +0000

It’s not about a one day boycott, it is about a lifestyle change. WALK more often, maybe with your family! Don’t drive for 20 minutes looking for a spot close to the mall and then walk the length of the 1/2 mile behmoth five times! Walk to the grocery store, use and reuse canvas shopping bags rather than petrol based plastic. Ride your bike. Guess what, you will save gas, lose weight, save money, feel better physically by being in better shape and you will feel better mentally by knowing you are doing the right thing. 0 to 60 in 4 seconds? Who Cares?! I will take my 40 MPG Prius over the latest BMW or, God forbid, Hummer any day of the week. Oh, did I mention that my family averages 10 a week in gas expense! Cool.

By: P. Reo, Jupiter, Florida

P. Reo, Jupiter, Florida — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:02:14 +0000

If for nothing else, if the boycott is vast enough, it will send another message to the oil industry that americans remain fed up with the constant lame excuses for high gas prices. Who cares what the experts think about the boycott…..just do it!
We’ll evaluate the results afterwards.

By: Jon G Los Angeles, California

Jon G Los Angeles, California — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:55:09 +0000

When I see a big gas guzzler with a yellow ribbon on it, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. With our oil guzzling habits we are subsidizing less than enlightened regimes, many of which openly say they are our enemies. Use less gas now when you can, make your next car 30%-50% more fuel efficient than your current one. It’s the most patriotic thing you can do. Forget about taxes and one-day boycotts.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:42:52 +0000

I agree that we should instead boycott one at a time. Say, everyone stop going to Shell until they lower their price. Then we will target another gas company.

By: Paul S., Walnut Creek, CA

Paul S., Walnut Creek, CA — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:42:16 +0000

Boycotts are rarely successful. In the few cases where they have worked, the victory was won because consumers committed themselves to a prolonged change in their purchasing behavior. Examples include the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the table grape boycott led by Cesar Chavez. These leaders were able to articulate and promote an undeniable moral imperative behind the boycott–an imperative that went beyond a nominal financial gain for the boycott participants.

The proposed one day gasoline boycott lacks both these elements: a significant moral imperative and a long-term commitment to modified purchasing behavior.

As an extreme example, imagine our founding fathers debating what to do about the oppressive tea tax. “Let’s send out an e-mail telling everyone not to buy tea for one day! Wait…that won’t work. We don’t have e-mail yet. But if we did have e-mail, a one-day boycott would really show King George what we think about his tax!” Fortunately, what our forefathers lacked in technology they made up for in high ideals and a willingness to make personal sacrifices. Otherwise, there never would have been a revolutionary war and we would all be driving our gas-guzzling SUV’s on the left-hand side of the road and buying “petrol” at European prices—which is twice what we pay in America.

By: John Nagy Commerce twp Mi

John Nagy Commerce twp Mi — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:38:51 +0000

You guys are all looking in the wrong place and at the wrong people. Its the traders, Hedge funds and brokers in New York that are causing the large price increases. They are making more money than the oil companies. Just look at profits of Bear Sterns and the other big brokers thier profits are higher than the oil companies.
Think of it this way- crude oil contracts are traded by these guys everyday and gasoline contracts are traded also – that is twice the brokers are making profit on the same gallon of oil.
Go back to the 1990s – we had the same amount of refinery outages and the price never changed this much – its just when the brokers and hedge funds got into it.
some of the hedge fund managers are making 1 billon dollars per year — that is just pain wrong
we are looking in the wrong places

By: Peter Pasternak, Cedar City, UT

Peter Pasternak, Cedar City, UT — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:33:51 +0000

First and foremost, we need to have national standards for all grades of gasoline. Having all these special blends for individual states makes a supply dramatically worse. Next we need to look at our national refining capabilities and insure that supply can reasonably meet demand. Given that a new refinery has not been built in this country for 20 plus years is insane and a testament to how much we enjoy shooting ourselves in the feet. Lastly, we need a comprehensive program to ween us off foreign oil. Until the above happens we are at the mercy of not only the oil exporting countries, but also corporate oil.

By: Bobby, LA, CA

Bobby, LA, CA — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:25:52 +0000

What’s the problem with $6 a gallon gasoline? I’m rich from investingin, amongst other stocks, oil ETF’s, which I purchased when it fell to $50 a barrel in January. Complain as you like, but invest in oil.

By: James Smith, Detroit, Michigan

James Smith, Detroit, Michigan — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:16:27 +0000

All you public-transit advocates are missing one very important thing: There are many parts of the country that HAVE NO PUBLIC TRANSIT. Detroit and the ‘burbs have NOTHING to offer, except a few rickety old busses that don’t even serve the MAJORITY of the CITY. Try living in Southeast Michigan, then tell me how to get around using public transit! I drive a fuel-efficient car. I shouldn’t have to move to Massachusetts to avoid being ripped off. GOUGING OIL COMPANIES SHOULD BE PUNISHED.