You want $1.30 a gallon???

[zev_steinhardt]

The Bee County (Texas) Commissioners voted on Monday 4-1 to urge people to stop buying from Exxon Mobil until the price of gas drops down to $1.30 a gallon.

(Source)

I'm just floored. I understand people's frustration at high gas prices and the fact that they want to do something about it. But this is just ridiculous.

Haven't these people been following the news lately. Don't they realize that the price of oil is up all over the world and that Exxon Mobil doesn't have any control over that price? Don't they have the slightest inkling that no one can afford to make gas for $1.30 a gallon, since almost half the cost of a gallon of gas comes from the price of crude oil? (Source) Not to mention the fact that Texas has a 20 cent per gallon gas tax, that means that they want it sold for $1.10. Add in refining costs, distribution and other costs, they are, essentially, asking ExxonMobil to provide gas for well under a dollar a gallon.

Now, I'm no economist. But I know enough to know that you can't force someone to sell something at below cost! Are these elected officials so economically illiterate that they don't see a dumb proposal?

One of my favorite lines from the article was this:

Judge Martinez said he can't see how a boycott would really hurt the local Exxon station owners, because people hardly have any money left to spend in the store after filling up outside.

Well, considering that gasoline makes up two-thirds of their sales (see article), if you can't see how boycotting 2/3 of someone's buisness (for factors that are beyond their control anyway), then you seriously need to install some brain cells.

Zev Steinhardt

(Note: I'm aware that there have been emails circulating for years asking for gas to return to $1.30. This, however, is not an urban legend.)

[kanicbird]

Originally Posted by zev_steinhardt

ell, considering that gasoline makes up two-thirds of their sales (see article), if you can't see how boycotting 2/3 of someone's buisness (for factors that are beyond their control anyway), then you seriously need to install some brain cells.

Did you consider that the profit margin for gas is much lower then items sold in the quick-y mart?

[zweisamkeit]

Originally Posted by zev_steinhardt

Well, considering that gasoline makes up two-thirds of their sales (see article), if you can't see how boycotting 2/3 of someone's buisness (for factors that are beyond their control anyway), then you seriously need to install some brain cells.

I agree with everything you've said but this. Gas stations don't make a profit on the actual gas. They make their profit on snacks and overpriced groceries etc (if it's a convenience mart) or auto repair (if it's one of that dying breed: the gas and service station*).


* my first job ever was working at one of these. People were consistently amazed at our pitiful junk food selection. They usually stared confusedly if you said that we could take care of any car problem (minus body work) that you had, though.

[Sublight]

Am I the only one wondering if any of the county commissioners owns a Shell station?

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Maybe the good folk of Bee County (Texas) should boycott their local Comission until the average IQ of commissioners is raised to at least 90.

[Chefguy]

The funniest part of all this is that everyone is being urged to drive with their lights on to show their displeasure with the oil companies. They must be laughing their asses off over that bit of stupidity.

[madmonk28]

Anyone else find it weird how every summer, a bump in the price of gas turns American politicians into hard-core Marxist Commisars? It's a free market, deal with it.

[Ludovic]

Originally Posted by madmonk28

Anyone else find it weird how every summer, a bump in the price of gas turns American politicians into hard-core Marxist Commisars? It's a free market, deal with it.

It's free speech: deal with it. Boycotts rarely work, and this is a particularly stupid call for a boycott, but the concept of a boycott is not unsound nor a violation of "free market" concepts.

[Otto]

But I'm already boycotting ExxonMobil!

[liberty]

Oil and gas companies are gouging. no doubt about it.

[Neurotik]

Originally Posted by Otto

But I'm already boycotting ExxonMobil!

Well, you're just going to have to boycott harder then, aren't you?

[silenus]

Link to an appropriate thread over in GD.

Otherwise, I agree with Tapioca Dextrin. Only I'd raise the number a little.

[zev_steinhardt]

Originally Posted by kanicbird

Did you consider that the profit margin for gas is much lower then items sold in the quick-y mart?

No, I'll admit that I didn't. Feel free to disregard that part of my pathetic rant. The rest, however, still applies.

Zev Steinhardt

[zev_steinhardt]

Originally Posted by Ludovic

It's free speech: deal with it. Boycotts rarely work, and this is a particularly stupid call for a boycott, but the concept of a boycott is not unsound nor a violation of "free market" concepts.

Sure it's free speech. I can boycott my supermarket until they sell me milk for a dime a quart too. But it's still going to make me look pretty silly.

Zev Steinhardt

[NurseCarmen]

I hope everyone boycotts Mobil.
then the one close to my house will drop their prices and have the side benefit of me not having to wait for anyone.

[Menocchio]

The grasp of economics some people have is truely pitiful.

Boycotting one gas company will not drop prices. Even if you could get a significant amount of people to join (easier said than done, but let's play along), you're simply shifting the demand to the remaining gas companies. In response, they'll raise their prices.

And, if ExxonMobil lowers their prices, even only a little bit (like from $3 a gal to $2.75 a gal), people will break the boycott. Then the other companies will lower their prices, but Exxon will be free to raise theirs again. Once they've equalized, they'll be free to raise up together.

Now, if, as a consumer, you want to lower gas prices, stop using gas. At all. From every source. Walk, bike, take mass transport, or if you absolute must, arrange to carpool with as few cars as possible. That will stop demand. That will lower prices. But, here's the tricky part, once prices drop, we can't start using gas again, or prices will just rise right back up again and we'll be right back where we've started.

[Steve MB]

Originally Posted by zev_steinhardt

The Bee County (Texas) Commissioners voted on Monday 4-1 to urge people to stop buying from Exxon Mobil until the price of gas drops down to $1.30 a gallon.

While they're wishing, would they also like a pony?

[John Mace]

Originally Posted by Otto

But I'm already boycotting ExxonMobil!

Put them on double-secret boycott status.

[Orbifold]

Originally Posted by kanicbird

Did you consider that the profit margin for gas is much lower then items sold in the quick-y mart?

The Bee County Commissioners sure as hell haven't considered that...

[Excalibre]

Originally Posted by zweisamkeit

I agree with everything you've said but this. Gas stations don't make a profit on the actual gas. They make their profit on snacks and overpriced groceries etc (if it's a convenience mart) or auto repair (if it's one of that dying breed: the gas and service station*).

Then why have most gas stations installed pay-at-the-pump feature? If they don't make money on gas, then that seems like an absolutely certain way to make sure that handly anyone comes into the store to buy potato chips.

Having trouble believing that.

[Thudlow Boink]

How about we just boycott the car manufacturers until they start making cars that run on tap water?

[Tripler]

Originally Posted by Otto

But I'm already boycotting ExxonMobil!

Hey, me too! I'm walking everywhere!

Tripler
. . . but only on hardened, paved surfaces.

[El_Kabong]

I'm boycotting beer until the breweries give it out free.

Originally Posted by liberty

Oil and gas companies are gouging. no doubt about it.

I hear this a lot. Walk me through just how this is bering done, if you don't mind.

[Cervaise]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

How about we just boycott the car manufacturers until they start making cars that run on tap water?

Why stop there? I'm boycotting Volvo until they install a Rolling Blowjob feature standard in all their cars.

Also, the seats should be made of boobs.

[Ethilrist]

Originally Posted by Steve MB

While they're wishing, would they also like a pony?

Oh, don't be silly. If they had ponies, they could just ride them and not have to pay $1.30 for gas.

Side note: Anybody have any data on what the price of gas has to go up before it's cheaper to keep a horse for a daily 10-mile roundtrip commute?

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Cervaise

Why stop there? I'm boycotting Volvo until they install a Rolling Blowjob feature standard in all their cars.

Also, the seats should be made of boobs.

I will forward this suggestion to our designers and ask them to get right on it.
you have my full support.

[Airman Doors, USAF]

Originally Posted by El_Kabong

I hear this a lot. Walk me through just how this is bering done, if you don't mind.

Isn't it obvious? They're making too much money! Any company that does too well MUST be cheating the people. Oh, and Bush is helping his oil buddies get fat at the expense of the little man, mustn't forget that. Did I cover them all?

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Airman Doors, USAF

Isn't it obvious? They're making too much money! Any company that does too well MUST be cheating the people. Oh, and Bush is helping his oil buddies get fat at the expense of the little man, mustn't forget that. Did I cover them all?

You forgot to demand that Exxon stop bombing brown people.

[CandidGamera]

Hm. There was some recent analysis conducted in California that compared the rise in gasoline prices to the rise in "spot market"(?) crud oil prices, and found that the increase in gas prices was disproportionate. I forget where I even saw this.. CNN.com, perhaps? But maybe someone else remembers the study.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Originally Posted by Menocchio

The grasp of economics some people have is truely pitiful.

Boycotting one gas company will not drop prices. Even if you could get a significant amount of people to join (easier said than done, but let's play along), you're simply shifting the demand to the remaining gas companies. In response, they'll raise their prices.

There was an economist on NPR the other day who said basically this. He seemed pretty impatient with the whole boycott. At the end of the interview, the reporter asked him whether there were any actions consumers could take to lower the cost of gasoline.

His answer? "Drive less."

The reporter waited a moment for an explanation, but none was forthcoming, so she laughed nervously, thanked him, and ended the interview. It was pretty funny. Sometimes the clever solution isn't the right one: sometimes the obvious one is.

Daniel

[Driver8]

Originally Posted by Excalibre

Then why have most gas stations installed pay-at-the-pump feature? If they don't make money on gas, then that seems like an absolutely certain way to make sure that handly anyone comes into the store to buy potato chips.

Having trouble believing that.

I doubt it is something they want to do, in much the same way retailers don't enjoy paying merchant fees for card transactions. But if you were the only gas station that did not support pay at the pump transactions I bet the loss of customer base would far outweigh the people who still come but now don't buy anything in the store.

Even with pay-at-the-punp I will occasionally go into the store to pick up something, rather than make yet another trip to the grocery store. However, I always pay at the pump, so I will just drive on by a gas station that does not have this feature.

[Jackmannii]

Originally Posted by Airman Doors, USAF

Oh, and Bush is helping his oil buddies get fat at the expense of the little man, mustn't forget that.

Naw, ever since 9/11 Bush has been promoting a massive effort to develop alternative energy sources and encourage conservation so as to lessen our dependence on imported oil and improve national security.

Only he's been doing it in total secrecy under the Patriot Act, so that no one knows about it yet.

[Katriona]

Originally Posted by Excalibre

Then why have most gas stations installed pay-at-the-pump feature? If they don't make money on gas, then that seems like an absolutely certain way to make sure that handly anyone comes into the store to buy potato chips.

Having trouble believing that.

Aha - this explains why my nearest station's receipts at the pumps are perpetually out of paper, and you have to go inside to get it.

[liberty]

Originally Posted by Excalibre

Then why have most gas stations installed pay-at-the-pump feature? If they don't make money on gas, then that seems like an absolutely certain way to make sure that handly anyone comes into the store to buy potato chips.

Having trouble believing that.

Because, then, they would lose money. They have to buy the gas from their suppliers. I had a gas station owner show me what they make on gas, it isn't all that much.

[Ludovic]

When I see a station without a pay at the pump option, I drive to another one. I think the pittance the stations get from gas is better than the nothing they get from customer like me who won't even patronize a store without pay at the pump.

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by Cervaise

Also, the seats should be made of boobs.

Tried that. The nipple raise welts like hell.

I wonder what kind of trucks these commissioners drive? Somehow I'm thinking they got 10 mpg pickups, not Priuses.

[Steve MB]

Originally Posted by Left Hand of Dorkness

There was an economist on NPR the other day who said basically this. He seemed pretty impatient with the whole boycott. At the end of the interview, the reporter asked him whether there were any actions consumers could take to lower the cost of gasoline.

His answer? "Drive less."

The reporter waited a moment for an explanation, but none was forthcoming, so she laughed nervously, thanked him, and ended the interview. It was pretty funny. Sometimes the clever solution isn't the right one: sometimes the obvious one is.

Did the reporter not understand the concept of supply and demand, or did she think the audience didn't?

[Lute Skywatcher]

Originally Posted by Menocchio

The grasp of economics some people have is truely pitiful.

Boycotting one gas company will not drop prices. Even if you could get a significant amount of people to join (easier said than done, but let's play along), you're simply shifting the demand to the remaining gas companies. In response, they'll raise their prices.

And, if ExxonMobil lowers their prices, even only a little bit (like from $3 a gal to $2.75 a gal), people will break the boycott. Then the other companies will lower their prices, but Exxon will be free to raise theirs again. Once they've equalized, they'll be free to raise up together.

Not to mention that gasoline companies routinely sell thier products to each other. Boycotting one would likely result in their gas being sold at an independent station or even at a competitor's.

[Marley23]

I hope the people of Bee County don't fall for this pathetic bullshit.

Industry officials said the larger issue is that Exxon gas rarely comes from Exxon refineries. Instead, other local refineries add Exxon chemicals just before it arrives at the station. If local Exxon stations aren't selling the gas, the corporation simply sells it to the companies who need it. Ultimately it will have little effect on prices.

READ SNOPES, TEXANS!

Still, Martinez is hopeful. He said, "It absolutely will work. Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind."

"In fact," he added, "there's not very much in my mind at all."

[Surbey]

You can't boycott ExxonMobil. Gas stations round the world get their gas from companies you've probably never heard of. Country Mark, Valero Fules, Buckeye North, Marathon Ashland. You're local gas station doesn't get fuel from the big gas companies. (Unless ofcourse it is a big company gas station). Thats how most work. ExxonMobil, British Petroleum(BP), Marathon sell thier gas to their own stations and to resellers. Who then sell it to fuel transporters, who then sell it to stations, who then sell it customers. That alone puts a hell of alot of extra cost on your gasoline.

If you are going to try and boycott Exxon and Mobil, you might as well boycott gasoline.


What gets me mad is the guys that come in, bitch about fuel price and then buy cigarettes and lotto tickets. FUCKING RETARD! You can't whine about paying an extra 40 cents on your 2.5 gallons of gas when you buy cigarettes and lotto tickets.

[Lemur866]

Originally Posted by Surbey

If you are going to try and boycott Exxon and Mobil, you might as well boycott gasoline.

And this is exactly on point. You can't boycott one gas station.

But you certainly can boycot gasoline entirely, or cut your gasoline purchases dramatically. Take the bus, ride a bike, walk, get a moped, take the train, take the subway, move closer to work, get a job closer to home, telecommute, quit your job and stay home to watch your Stories full time.

Boycotting gasoline actually makes sense. Of course, you can't boycott gas just be not buying gas for a week, then buying twice as much next week. You have to actually stop buying it. As in, doing without.

[liberty]

Originally Posted by Voyager

Tried that. The nipple raise welts like hell.

I wonder what kind of trucks these commissioners drive? Somehow I'm thinking they got 10 mpg pickups, not Priuses.

It's America, you should be able to drive what you want. And I pretty much wouldn't want to drive one a Prius. Ugly IMO. And I buy American.

[SuaSponte]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kanicbird
Did you consider that the profit margin for gas is much lower then items sold in the quick-y mart?

[/quote]No, I'll admit that I didn't. Feel free to disregard that part of my pathetic rant. The rest, however, still applies.

Zev Steinhardt[/quote] Zev, you weren't wrong. The profit margin for gas is much lower than items sold in the quicky mart for the quicky mart - not necessarily for ExxonMobil, the actual target of the boycott. Gasoline at the pump is a loss leader (or a marginal profit maker) for the franchisee of the particular gas station. The reason it's a loss leader is because the provider of the gasoline (here, ExxonMobil) charges the franchisee a high wholesale price, thereby taking the profits.

Sua

[eleanorigby]

Gas stations make their money on cigarettes and sundries?


I never knew that.



I have never bought anything other than gas at a gas station. (maybe some gum, once in 1960-something). I consider gas stations to be dirty (they smell godawful). I no more want my milk to come from there than I do my bread or magazines.

People shop at gas stations? (you guys are blowing my mind).


I must live in a small world.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Originally Posted by liberty

It's America, you should be able to drive what you want. And I pretty much wouldn't want to drive one a Prius. Ugly IMO. And I buy American.

Toyota hybrids are made in Kentucky.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

I have never bought anything other than gas at a gas station. (maybe some gum, once in 1960-something).

And you chewed that gum for 20 minutes?

[madmonk28]

Originally Posted by liberty

It's America, you should be able to drive what you want. And I pretty much wouldn't want to drive one a Prius. Ugly IMO. And I buy American.

Yes, but if you can drive what you want, shouldn't you also be prepared to pay the consequences, in this case spending more money on gasoline?

I hear the Senate is considering sending every American $100 to cover gas increase and they are talking about more hearings from the oil companies. Why is it so hard for some people to accept that oil prices are going to continue to climb and less fuel efficient vehicles are going to continue to cost more to operate?

[askeptic]

Not for nothing but have you seen the price of gas in Venezuela . Its $0.14 per gallon. Guess they worked out the refining costs.

[askeptic]

Sorry that link didn't require registration when I found it. But the fact remains that oil companies in this country are making huge profits.

[Smeghead]

Back when gas was still around a dollar a gallon, I knew a gas station owner. He told me he made more money off a Three Musketeers bar than he did off a gallon of gas.