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September 1, 2005
Oil Company Boycott? Not Workable
I've just gotten another one of those viral emails calling for a day of boycott against the oil companies. These things seem so reasonable, on the surface. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on your economic knowledge), the whole concept is unworkable.
The standard line starts out something like this. "If we all used no oil for one day, the oil companies would run out of storage space for their stockpiles." It would be easy to say that this statement leaves an important detail out. It leaves a LOT of details out. The whole statement is flawed, unworkable, and plainly false.
Oil and gas don't work the same way other products do. The stockpiles of gasoline from which we purchase are counted in many locations. There are huge storage tanks. There are smaller storage tanks. There are trucks, train cars, ships, and pipelines full. All of this is counted in the stockpile. The gasoline in the storage tanks at your local station are also a part of the stockpile. At many points in the supply chain, slack space is available.
Note that because the local gas station's tanks are included in the stockpiles, the price you pay at the pump is actually the replacement cost. You're not paying to buy from the tank. You're buying from the stockpile. That's why price increases at the wholesale level almost immediately pass down to the gas pump.
With that said, why couldn't we simply boycott the oil companies for one day and show them we don't need them? The answer to this one is even simpler. We DO need them. Far from being the evil corporate greedmongers that some would like you to believe, the oil companies are providing a necessary product on a massive scale at a reasonable price.
We need the oil companies because we need gasoline. We need lubricants. We need plastics, tars, and other petroleum products. To not purchase gasoline for one day would be ineffective, if we still used petroleum products for that day. If we drove to work on that day, we'd just buy the same amount of gasoline the day before, or after, thus negating any effect. We would have to avoid using/purchasing drinks in plastic bottles, Vasoline, WD-40, paint thinners, many paints, shingles, electronics, and electricity. The list goes on, of course, but you get the idea. We also don't want to use any products or services that require the oil industry to exist, which rules out pretty much everything. Don't drink water, because the pumps require electricity, which is created by burning oil or another fuel that is transported using an oil-driven machine.
To effectively carry out a boycott on the oil companies, the process would be quite simple. Flip the main breaker on your house to the off position. Seat yourself on the couch and stay still, to reduce food and water needs. Go to the bathroom in a jar, if you can't hold it in for 24 hours. Eat nothing. Use nothing. Drink nothing. Buy nothing. Produce nothing. Do nothing.
Oil impacts every aspect of our lives in this modern age. Instead of complaining about fluctuations in prices on one product of the industry, try considering how the oil industry has made our lives better in almost every way. Be careful that your immediate dislike of market-driven price increases don't drive you to be a luddite.
Posted by Lockjaw at September 1, 2005 6:11 AM
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Comments
What a beautifully concise essay on the the workings of the oil industry. Wish you'd e-mail a copy of this to Bill O'Reilly. This evening he was calling on Americans to boycott gas stations on each Sunday from now until the end of the year; oil companies will not voluntarily cut their profits by 20% "for the good of America". He could not see that such an action would be that consumers would gobble up all the "cheap" gas, which would result in no gas available to purchase. And that would help America how?
Posted by: Roxie at September 1, 2005 10:08 PM
Gas prices are impacting every American and even foreign countries. The oil Companies and Banks are taking in record profits and the public is suffering. Let's do something about it. Boycotting the Oil Companies will not work. We all need gas and petroleum products are in most of the products that we use. Let's boycott the economy for a few days in order that we may have a better economy for years to come. STOP SHOPPING. That is the answer. Do not buy cars, clothes, furniture, appliances, etc.. for about 10 days and demand that gas prices drop to $1.75 per gal. This price is at a level that the consumer has become accustomed to and clearly is a level at which the oil companies can make a fair profit based upon 2004 oil company profit statements. Let's organize for a better economy which will create a better work environment. For more information read an article titled "America, they are betting against you" at Prosperous10000.iblogs.com
May God give you the desires of your heart and make all of your plans succeed.
Posted by: Ronnie Sturdivant at November 1, 2005 10:05 AM
I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $17638. Isn't that crazy!
Posted by: Betsy Markum at November 14, 2005 1:35 PM
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