For those of you boycotting gas today, May 15th, please read this. You are not hurting the big business; rather, the gas station owners who merely make cents for every gallon you purchase.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/14/news/econo...oney_topstories

The arabs are shaking in their turbans.

^^ That does make a lot of sense and if I need gas today, I'm gonna buy gas today. I don't give a shit what anybody says, the only people that can fight the oil tycoons are the people that are in bed with them: the gov't. We, the people, are defenseless and powerless against big business.

With that said, I question the source of this article. I know it's CNN reporting it, but what are their sources? Is this propaganda being released by the oil companies? There is a lot of propaganda released by the oil companies to counter claims of global warming; it's a public relations term called damage control. And tobacco companies have released a lot of propaganda to counter act claims of health risks caused by cigarettes. Just something to think about.

Why is this news? Must of been a really f**king slow news day when this old rumor is dragged out to be refuted. Again.

As far as propaganda, people are so lazy these days that propaganda isn't need: if people weren't so busy worrying about sports scores, celebrity gossip, movies, games, etc. then they would ask simple questions like "how does a company that makes a $10 billion dollar profit have to raise prices of their product?".

It honestly pissed me off so bad hearing about this that I only got $1.00 of gas yesterday when my gas light was on so I could fill up my tank today, the 15th just in spite of all the dumb assholes out there.

The one-day gas boycotts are ludicrous. So long as people don't actually reduce their consumption, all they're doing is shifting their purchases around during one week. The gas station and the oil company's bottom lines will be absolutely the same at the end of the month.

I agree that it will not hurt the companies, but a massive action would show dis contempt of the general public. Oil companies are reporting record profits and the economy is hurting because of it. This might not do anything, but at least it will get people talking. Doing nothing will just perpetuate the problem.

Maybe if we all wrote our local politicians at the same time. 10,000 people not visiting the pumps wouldn't make a difference, but 10,000 letters to the capitol. That would turn some heads.

I think this is more of a call-to-action/awareness act more than an actual act of conserving gas/showing up the oil companies. I have to believe that the whole point of it is to draw attention to the idea of conserving gas and other resources and using them wisely more so than actually conserving gas by not purchasing it one day. 100,000 people not buying gas today might make 50,000 of them think more about it and make 25,000 actually try to stop using as much gas on a regular basis and another 10,000 might actually send letters to their congressmen over the topic. In that sense, I believe a 1-day boycott is effective. I completely agree that boycotting buying gas for one day won't lower oil company incomes or anything though, thats just a ridiculous notion. I won't be buying gas today, just because I filled up 2 days ago, but even then the thought that so many people are purposely not buying gas today does make me think a little bit more about how much people use and overuse gasoline in this country.

I love this shit, the typical Americans "taking action". People, yeah, are willing to do this, but who actually cares enough to actually start being smart about gas consumption and emissions, and doing more comprehensive things like carpooling every day, taking the bus or train? They just think they can fix the entire problem by boycotting gas for one day. Taking the easy way out. Completely ineffective on many levels. I bet the people who participated today feel like champs now

Bus and train service is virtually non-existent in 95% of the US. Where it does exist, it is rarely reliable/practical. The only places trains and buses work here are very large cities (like NYC)

Yeah. I live 20 miles away from where I work (so bicycling is out), and no mass transit system connects the two cities. Carpooling with the few other Ashland employees isn't practical, as we don't start and end work at the same time. On the other hand, I'm driving a four-cylinder Subaru that gets 29 mpg on the highway amidst a sea of half-ton and heavy-duty pickups, so I don't feel particularly guilty.

I'd be happy to switch over to a biodiesel car (if affordable biodiesel sport sedans were available) to further conserve oil, but Darinzon's suggestions just don't work for me (or many Americans).

I drive a quick car thats super fun to drive. Fuck them hippies.

Yeah, I thought about that later in the day after I wrote that. We are nothing but a bunch of fucking sheep; propaganda isn't needed.

Just goes to show that there is no shortage of folks out there who have no idea what "economics" are and what magical voodoo they use to operate.

ExxonMobil makes $10B a year because people are willing to pay the fucking price for it. BUT OMG THEY'RE SO EVIL FOR MAKING MONEY!!! You don't fucking say? Welcome to the world, hippies, and get used to it. For the majority of Americans, gas is a miniscule expense compared to what they have to pay for other expenses, but because it is so visibile, they decide to rail against it. Quit bitching if you're willing to pay the price.

I guess being a cold, heartless capitalist makes me proud of the oil companies for making a profit and happy that we live in a society where people can still get rich.

Spoken like a true cold, heartless capitalist. The kind whose out just for his own selfish worth and doesn't give a damn who he needs to step on in order to get to the top. Just the kind of attitude you need out here and obviously in the business world.

Now, I don't care about this stupid boycott and I'll fill up whenever and wherever I'll need it. ExxonMobil broke their profit records as I recall twice in a fiscal year, great. But, there's also a difference between making a profit and just ripping people off. I only say that because you make it seem like like the end result justifies the means.

Ummm im pretty sure that the entire fucking universe knows that we are not happy about gas prices.

I just went and bought some gas, even though my tank was still half full. This boycott is dumb.

Every English, Pre-med, Engineering major friend I've got has given me flak for going into business. If I'm going to get labelled, might as well live up to it.

You're missing the point here, phix. Everything you have around you was brought about because someone was stupid greedy. How about that XPS laptop you're probably posting this on? Michael Dell has joined the ranks of the richest men alive, but most folks do not go after him for overcharging for computers. Why not? Because he's not as visible as the gas prices that are posted on every street corner. The CEO of Procter and Gamble made $87.8M US in 2005. And I'll be damned if anyone here doesn't buy their products. The CEO of McKesson made well over $60M US (after options and bonuses) in that same year. 95% of all prescription drugs in the US pass through that company at some point in time. CEO of General Mills pulls in $50M+ US a year.

End justifies the means? This is hardly Macchiavellian. Across the board, the highest cost in any corporation is labor wages. More profits = more pay. Let's move on to Wal-Mart. Certainly they've been in the crosshairs as an evil corporation. But because they move so much inventory, the common man can afford to buy more. Things he or she couldn't have before they came around. (And, by the by, their non-union wages are better than your local grocer's.) Big business makes the world go around. And those profits are a necessary by-product of making it happen. Step on the little guy? Return business is the best kind of business, and we don't get that if you get stepped on, now do we? Those huge CEO salaries are tied to stuff like making a difference in the community and ensuring customer satisfaction (and before you go call B.S., I've seen the criteria executives across several Fortune 500 companies are judged by to recieve these bonuses, and they're most certainly a big part.)

We're not the heartless bastards you would like to believe we are, although there's no denying some of the business folks out there are cold and emotionless. But we need them to make the business world function. I'm not going to be guilted into feeling bad because I want to make a lot of money. Selfish and hollow inside? No, I enjoy being compensated for being productive.

Same.

Fuck you man. Its so easy to blame everything on stupid Americans but it is the broad generalizations that make YOU sound like an ignorant fuck. I am sick of hearing all of this America bashing. Do you have a solution? No, so shut the fuck up and try and come up with something constructive. I am sick of comments like these.

The status quo obviously isn't working. Whoever started this at least had an idea.

I am not saying that making money is bad, but it has gotten to the point with these companies that their growth has made their existence counter productive for society at large (And this applies to more than just USA). This is made obvious by looking at their profits from the last year. Normally, the government would step in and force the companies to act in a way that is the best for the country. But again the growth of the companies have kept that from happening.

These are not just my opinions if you want to argue against me than you should do it by arguing that the above is not fact. That is that big oil companies are not making money hand over fist, and that they do not have a strong political pull in the government.

So what is there to do. The only way to get anything done is to cause a major outrage on a massive scale. People need to see what is going on and start talking about it. Don't think Americans can do it? Don't take my word for it, look at what happened to cigarette companies in the past.

In this sense this event was a fantastic idea. It was a success because we are talking about it.

Now once people are talking about it, than I am out of ideas. These are not domestic companies, so I don't know what the protocol is. Ill leave that up to people who know politics better than I do. If you look at all of the information and still don't see a problem than you are seeing something that I missed. In that case post it up and enlighten me. If you see a major problem than don't just sit there and say that this boycott is stupid. That sounds like someone who just goes against people to stand out, and that is something to be ashamed of.

If you don't like the price then don't buy it. It's simple. Nobody's making you fill up the tank on your car. You don't have the right to drive and you don't have the right to cheap gasoline.

No offense or personal attacks pointed at you.

Except for the fact that without a vehicle it's nigh impossible to function in western society unless you live in a major metropolitan and can rely on mass transit or your own two feet.

I am not trying to say that we should go to communism. But unchecked capitalism does not work. This has been proven before. That is why our government has rules whose purpose is to maintain the balance.

You say that the companies are not making money hand over fist. I would disagree with that, citing http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8...;show_article=1
as a source.

You have me on driving less. And I am willing to pay $3+ a gallon to drive, because driving is very important to me. I am an enthusiast and come hell or high water I am going to drive my car. But the rest of the country is not like me. They would not be willing to pay this money if their well being did not demand that they drive to work every day.

That's not the oil companies' problem.

You are right, and I can not wrong them for acting in their best interest. I would probably do the same, but now, IMHO what is for the companies best interest contradicts with what is best for society.

Business exist to make money, they are NOT out there simply to serve consumers and create a happy friendly life to live unless it makes them money. Even "nonprofit" corporations rake in a lot of cash - many of the people working there will find it very easy to make whatever 6 figure salary they want, 200k/year isn't uncommon at all.

200K/year at most NPO's is mid-range. You should see the benefits packages given to most hospital administrators. But then again, I'd argue that its warranted. But that's a whole other can of hornets.

The biggest problem I have here is that no one is addressing the economics behind it. Look, Dr. Strangelove, I like you, and I have nothing against you, but please please please stop saying things like "it's just not working" and "it's not in the best interest of society." This is an economics issue here. I'll lay it out for you.

What is considered to be the world's new largest automobile market has virtually just appeared. China, 10 years ago, had little demand for consumer oil (gasoline, to be specific.) All of a sudden, they've got a HUGE demand for oil, and are willing to pay. Let me illustrate that for you:



What we have here is a shift in demand. The downward sloping line represents the demand curve and the upward sloping line represents the supply curve. As there is a shift in demand (China has shift in demand for oil), you can see that the quantity produced (represented by the X-axis) increases, and, more importantly, price (as represented by the Y-axis) increases. Hence, what we see here in the long run.

There are other factors here. In some states, up to 40% of gas prices are taxes (most likely for highways and road maintenance, as well as some other items). Also, governmental regulations on refineries are very high. A lot of cost goes into refnining modern day gasoline.

In conclusion, folks must stop saying "OMG THEY'RE MAKING TOO MUCH MONEY" simply because, barring the wild and rare case of price gouging, the market demands it at this price. And if the market demands it, then in the best interests of society (because businesses make up society, too, as their employees are citizens) would be to produce gasoline at that price. I don't want to offend you, but this is the reality of the situation.

/soapbox