Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

[Tps222]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Sure, I'm in.

[flawofhumanity]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Maybe I'm dumb, but wouldn't it be more useful to boycott a particular gas station company/chain for a few months? I mean, while overall gas prices wouldn't go down, it would hurt the company, and send a rather large message to the other gas station companies/chains, wouldn't it? I mean, if everyone were to suddenly stop buying Exxon gas for a few months, Exxon would have to lower its gas prices, correct? Then, at this point other companies would have to match Exxon's price so we don't start buying from there, thus lowering gas prices as a whole. Then again, it's late and this idea is probably flawed/missing the point of not buying gas.

[madmatt621]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Boycott Shell and Valero/Diamond Shamrock.

[g4z33b0]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Why Shell? They have great prices on everything except gas.

[madmatt621]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Exactly. Boycott Shell's gas.

[Hachi86]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

If you dont pump on the 15th, then you probably will pump on the 14th or the 16th and the gas companies will make the same amount of money, just on a different date.

[Shashmakito]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

This thread brought to you by:

Redundancy.

[OrganisM]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

Okay, I won't pump gas today. I'll sit around masturbating to midget porn all day instead. Like I always do.

[aperson]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

hahahahaha

This is one step above armchair activism.

[nforcer06164]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

People are still buying gas this morning. Obviously nobody cares, and gas prices have gone up about 20 cents in the past few days. These companies aren't stupid. If they want to appease their dumb customers, they'll just lower the price to what it was on Friday.

I propose something that will cause more of a stir. Why not boycott the largest gasoline company in the states, Exxon Mobil? If we refuse to buy Mobil for about a year, they'll be forced to lower their prices (which we know they can greatly afford to do) and the other companies will be forced to do the same to match. In the end, it'll actually cause the damage that'll force a change instead of simply sending a message that the CEOs can laugh at.

[Tps222]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

The convenience of the placement of the gas station will always override that nForcer.

People are lazy, no one wants to drive an extra few blocks to save money.

[wtholyf]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

As stated earlier, not filling up gas on the 15th will really have no effect on the market. Not only would the money be made up the day before or the day after; it would only cause an increase in price. The fact is, gas companies have very little control over price of gas. It's simple supply and demand; and since the market is inelastic, as OPEC and the market drive the prices of crude oil up, gas companies must do the same. Someone pointed out earlier that Exxon made 35 billion in profits (it is the most profittable company as of today.) Whereas that is a TON of profit; the fact is, statiscally; they should be making more money. In the past, the trend for exxon was to profit 9 cents per dollar at the pump. This outraged many people because because the GDP average profit was at 7 cents per dollar. As the market began to crash, oil consumption continued to increase. In addition to this, many cheap sources of oil have been completly tapped out, thus resulting in the price of crude oil to shoot up. As of today, the American market profits on average 5 cents a dollar; whereas Exxon profits 5.50. Yes they're making a huge profit; but, proportionally; it's not as much as they could be making. They simply have little control over prices. Especially in the oiligopoly-like market structure gas companies compete in; a Nash equilbrium is always reached. Oil is going to skyrocket no matter what, because if we aren't willing to pay a certain price for gas, other countries, especially China, will. It is inevitable that the price of gas will give up. The only solution is to find an alternative source of energy; this is what we should be truly promoting.

[nforcer06164]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

The convenience of the placement of the gas station will always override that nForcer.

People are lazy, no one wants to drive an extra few blocks to save money.

Not if people make a conscious effort. Too many people are dependent on gasoline, so a gas-out isn't really effective. I mean, yeah, the logic behind it "working before" is great, but it only sends a message; it doesn't really affect the oil companies. I was willing to do it just to help send that message, but the price drop (if there is one) will be artificial in nature. If we make a serious effort to cripple the largest oil company in the U.S., we might actually make some progress. Remember, the oil companies may control price, but they also rely on us to meet those prices. If we refuse to meet their ridiculous demands, what else can they do but give in?

[wtholyf]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

I made a slight mistake, as of last year Exxon profitted 5.71% for every dollar (5.71 cents.)

[jpcduran]

Re: Don't pump gas on May 15th ....

i agree with Hachi86 doesnt matter what date, gas companies will still get there money