Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

CNN/Money has an article that says gas boycotts are dumb.

I dug up something old I wrote to a mailing list, circa 2004. I thought I posted a similar rant here ages ago, but my archives tell me I haven’t. So here is most of what I wrote, edited for clarity, time-perspective and a removal of some of my snarky comments. Sorry for the holier-than-thou attitude. I was arguing against a bunch of tree-hugging hippies I like to call my friends. Sometimes it takes a verbal can of whoop-a$$ to get them to take you seriously.

My folks have been gas retailers for the last 30 years, give or take a decade. So, I think I’m a little bit better qualified that most of you to argue against this stupid proposition [a one-day gas boycott]. This is a rehash of an old thread…and let me be the voice of reason.

A one day boycott will do nothing except lower the daily revenue of the retailer/franchisee. You are not taking money out of the mouth of a gas corporation. The gas is in the tanks and paid for already. You have now reduced the daily revenue of some poor family running the shop. You have in no way harmed the gas company since they already got their money. YOU AREN’T CHOKING ANYONE’S STOCKPILES. That is a complete myth.

The tanker trucks move around with a lot of gas and they make deliveries several times a week to a single gas station. You’d have to time your boycott perfectly with gas shipments, and that’s not bloody likely. That tanker will drive to the next station and fill up the tanks there.

If you want to change the price of gas, buy a bike and ride it. Buy a Low Emissions Vehicle and make radical lifestyle changes. I’m all for changing how we live to make the earth a better place. That’s why I’m going to learn to ride a motorcycle and consume less gasoline.

***NOTHING*** you can do at the pump on a single day will change the price of gas. Let me repeat that, NOTHING you can do at the pump on a single day will change the price of gas. You’d have to boycott for the entire month of July or August to change the gas inventory. Those are the summer vacation months when demand is highest. Trust me, I know. I’ve run 5 yrs worth of sales reports for my folks.

The spot price of gas has reached an all time high of $40 a barrel. [Don’t laugh! I wrote this in 2004!] You can’t change OPEC by not buying gas on a single day. Hey, guess what? I go 5 days without buying gas, every single week. You’re just shifting demand to other days of the week.

If you want to send a message, boycotting your local retailer is not the way to do it.

Just to put it all in perspective, Europeans pay $2-4 per liter for gas. In equivalent gallons, that’s about $8+ bucks per gallon. We still pay the cheapest prices and use the most of it.