Dear Readers:
Jesus H. Christ! Will y'all quit sending me that e-mail about how boycotting Exxon/Mobil will bring gas prices down to $1.60 per gallon. It. Will. Not. Work.
Sincerely,
GOC
The latest version of this admits that the weekly boycott will not work, but this new boycott idea came from a Haliburton executive who sent it to a Coca Cola executive. If we boycott Exxon Mobile it will start a gas war and gas prices will drop to $1.60 a gallon.
Now this is not the dumbest thing I have ever heard, but it ranks way up there. Let's talk basic economics.
The most basic economic principle is the Law of Supply and Demand. Gummints have been trying to circumvent this law since the dawn of civilization. The Soviet Union tried it and we saw how that worked out. Let's insert a little joke here.
It seems that during Gorbachev's reign a women was standing in line to purchase bread. She was bitching to the person in front of her about shortages. Just then a KGB guy walked up to her and said, "In the old days you know what would have happened to you?" He used his thumb and first finger to imitate a gun and said, "Bang!"
When the woman finally got home her husband asked her if they were out of bread. She said, "It's even worse than that. They're out of bullets."
But back to basic economics. Here's how the Law of Supply and Demand works. This is the same law that the rat bastard commies Dimocrats keep trying to circumvent.
The free market always tries to seek equilibrium between supply and demand. It does this by price. If the supply of sumpin' goes up and the demand remains the same, the price goes down. If the supply of sumpin' goes down while the demand remains the same, the price goes up.
It works the same way on the damand side. If the demand for sumpin' goes up (Which is what is happening as the economies of China and India grow) and the supply remains the same (Thank OPEC and the Dimocrats who will not let the oil companies drill in ANWR and off the coast) the price goes up. If the demand for sumpin' goes down while the supply remains the same the price will go down.
Now let's examine boycotting Exxon/Mobile. What we would essentially be doing is cutting the supply of gasoline. Do you think Exxom/Mobile will cut their price? Dream on. The other companies would raise their prices to seek equilibrium between the supply and demand. Either that, or they would run out of gas.
So what you would have is everyone else selling gas at $4.50 a gallon while Exxon/Mobile is selling theirs at $4.00 a gallon. Watcha gonna do? You're gonna go back to Exxon/Mobile.
That Law of Supply and Demand is a real bitch.
As I said. The boycott is a waste of time. There are only two ways to get gas prices down: Increase the supply or decrease the demand.
As we know, the Dimocrats will not allow us to increase the supply. Here is where the eeee-veil oil companies are not allowed to drill.
Picture stolen from here.
The Dimocrats say that drilling now won't solve our energy problem because it will be years before the oil will come on line. Their solution is "alternate energy" or as I like to call it Poof! PFM
I saw Senator Carl Levin spout this bullshit. He wants to take $19 billion from the oil companies and fund "alternate energy" (Poof! PFM) projects. These are projects which even if they are viable will not come online for ten to twenty years. In the meantime, the Dimocrats' solution is to allow the price of gasoline to go up and blame the eeee-vil oil companies. They're for some pie in the sky, (Poof! PFM) projects which may not work while against producing more oil in the interim which will work.
Here's what I don't understand. Why aren't the Republicans campaigning on this? Gas prices have passed $4.00 a gallon in many places and with the summer driving season coming on they're only gonna get worse. Screw the Iraq war! What Americans are concerned about now is the price at the pump. Republicans should be shouting from the rooftops about the Dims not letting the oil companies produce more domestic oil.
If I were running for Congress, I would not post videos of Michelle Obama spouting bullshit or Jerry Wrights's anti-American tirades. I would post videos of Dims opposing drilling in ANWR and off the coast.
You can legislate CAFE standards all you want, but it will be the free market that will increase gas mileage. Guess what happened in the 70's when gas prices went up. Americans traded in their gas guzzlers and bought Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas. To compete, Detroit started making cars that exceeded the gummint mandated CAFE standards. Funny how that works.
The reason SUVs became popular is because many people didn't like driving those little fuel efficient cars when gas prices dropped. They wanted a nice big solid machine. Guess what? People are going back to those little fuel efficient cars. As to SUVs, auto companies are gonna try to figger out how to make them more fuel efficient, not because of gummint mandates, but because of the market place.
What we have with the rising gas price is not gummint solutions but gummint getting in the way of the free market. Open up ANWR. Open up the coast to drilling. Build more refineries. Tell the ecotards to go fuck off! China is drilling 50 miles off the coast of Key West. That is our oil and the Dimocrats won't let us go get it.
Hear that Republicans? This is your chance to prevent Dimocrat gains in the fall. Campaign on high gas prices. What am I saying? The dipshits are too stupid to use it.
We're doomed!
Posted by denny at May 22, 2008 07:06 PMDenny.......
Ask TDO....Its all Dubyas fault,When he wanted to drill in ANWR, we had to save the pristine wilderness for the Glorious Animals even though there is nothing there but rocks & ice. Besides we kept Dubyas oil buddies from making a fortune of windfall profit from the oil there.Same thing for construction of new Refineries....only Dubyas oil buddies would have gotten rich.
Now that Gas is over $4.00 a gallon & diesel is worth more then gold due to the shortages....It is Dubyas Oil Buddies who are gouging us according to TDO & other Lib Socialists.
Now if the majority of Americans cannot already make the obvious conclusions .......Why do you think if the Republican`s campaigned on the truth ,John Q Public would be able to grasp the obvious? Besides it would only be viewed as a trick for the benefit of Dubyas Oil Buddies.
I wonder how many of these dim witted fools are still standing on the beaches of New Jersey waiting to spot the first oil tanker to arrive from Iraq....after all that is why we went to war there according to the Libs, for the benefit of Dubyas Oil Buddies!
If they ever figure out how to make Ethanol from Liberal Bullshit......All of the Democrats in the Congress & Senate will be instant millionaires with lots of Ethanol Buddies....somehow that would be Dubyas fault also.
Posted by: dudley1 on May 22, 2008 09:02 PM1. We bought SUVs because we couldn't get reasonable-sized station wagons any more.
2. Correct me if I am wrong, but oil at $130/barrel is a bit over $3.09 a gallon if all we do is strain the rocks out of the crude and put in in the tank.
republicans? Are there any left? All I have seen is a bunch from the Christian right wing that spend our money like a drunk on payday night and come borrowing on Monday.
I would be glad to vote for a real republican but I don't know any running for office. Most of these RINO sumbitches are to the left of FDR and of course the dumbass dim-a-crits are socialists..
Posted by: GUYK on May 22, 2008 09:31 PMI got my Motorcycle license today. Denny, people are not just trading in gas guzzlers for smaller cars. They are going so far as to ride cycles. Six people in class, three of them said they were there to learn to ride because of the price of gas. I wasn't one of those three but I will admit I am thinking of starting to ride my bike to work and it was originaly bought just for leisure riding. Also, I've read that auction prices for SUV's are down 15% and that was a month and a half ago... I expect it is worse now.
A while back I was looking into converting my daily driver pickup truck to run on propane. Not too difficult but gave up after finding out how hard it is to get fuel, how freakin' impossible it is to qualify for the 3,000.00 tax break, how the tank has to be inspected anually and replaced every five years, how it has to be a specially certified tank for use on the road ($700.00) and last but not least, the same friggin government that wants so desperatly to encourage the use of alternative fuels requires the purchase of a TAX STICKER in place of paying road tax at the gas pump. Regulation on top of requirement on top mandate with a dollop of taxation is a recipe for the status quo and leaves me pumpin' gas at 3.89 knowing that I am going to be looking back on these prices fondly by summers end. And when we get a nice little hurricane through the wrong part of the gulf this year or next a nice crisp Benjamin is not going to do much more than moisten the tank.
I now have a concrete reason for what has always been a visceral hatred of environmentalists simplt on principle.
Posted by: Brad on May 22, 2008 09:38 PMLarry - Don't forget the cost of making over 20 different blends due to the ecotards and all the taxes on gas.
Posted by: Denny on May 22, 2008 09:44 PMI have been reading about these hearings our elected asswipes have been doing with the oil execs. From what I can tell, these oil people are far more intelligent and more business and environmentally conscious than any congressional monkey. Some of these oil guys were telling them exactly what we already know...congress is at fault! Well no shit sherlock! How is it that the only ones who don't know that are the problem folks? It is past time for a 100% turnover in congress. And this time, no lawyers allowed!
Posted by: John C on May 22, 2008 09:48 PM"Larry - Don't forget the cost of making over 20 different blends due to the ecotards and all the taxes on gas."
Oh, I did not for a second forget.
My point was just that if you divide 130 by 42 you come to over $3.09/gallon -- price today was $3.57 I think--and I think the taxes here are more that $.50 a gallon--so the windfall profits are looking little thin here.
Posted by: Larry Sheldon on May 22, 2008 10:30 PMThe Chinese are drilling oil and gas out of the Gulf, but we can't, for "environmental reasons." Reaction of the ecotards to the Chinese drilling (which I'm ever so sure is even more environmentally conscious than ours...koff, hack) is complete and utter disinterest.
And the fact every dollar we send to the Arabs and the rest of the oil lottery winners is a dollar that can't be spent on developing their much-beloved "renewable resources" is also met with a yawn.
I think we need to start shooting these people.
the ecotards only care about the death of western civilization. the chinese don't matter to them.
Posted by: pdwalker on May 22, 2008 11:13 PMThis is all interesting.
However you may wish to reconsider your statements
when you understand that only about 40% of a barrel of crude-oil becomes gasoline. That's about 22 gallons.
22 X $4.00 = $88.00.
Also consider that, here in Kalifornia, 10% of a
gallon of gas is Ethinol. Ethinol has to be trucked in since it absorbs water and other impurities in a pipeline. Does your state require an Ethinol additive?
And remember we don't have the refineing facilities to handle our own oil. That's why we export Crude.
I could go on and on, but back to Denny's drift;
We have a fucked-up buacracy for a government that caters to feel-good, popular opinion solutions that sound good on NBC and CNN, but
actually only compound the problem.
I don't have the answere, but please get the facts straight.
Maby we'll end up like Europe. When we can't afford to commute to work, we'll have a nation wide strike. I don't mean just truckers.
But then Warrrshington will just raise our taxes to subsidize commuters.
Pete
Posted by: Pete on May 22, 2008 11:14 PMNot to worry. Maxine Waters (American Communist Party aka democrat) proposed to Nationalize the oil industry today. Forget the motorcycle, you won't be able to afford gas for it either. $12 a gallon will be the starting point on the way up. At least they're proposal for government control of your medical care will result in massive population control, reduction through death will take care of it. I knew the democrats playing kissy face, smacky mouth with Chavez and running an Islamist for POTUS had a reason. We're real close to the kill or be killed point, take your choice.
Posted by: Scrapiron on May 22, 2008 11:32 PMthis thread combined with the passing of the pork laden war funding bill and the hero worship of floater are depressing the shit out of me. damn. just damn.
Posted by: patrick on May 23, 2008 01:19 AMI have no disagreement re the law of supply and demand, etc. I would note that if the American consumers cut their use, then prices will eventually fall.
But there is one area that could use some review as shown in this article in Huntingdon News, URL http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/080511-engdahl-columnsoilprice.html.
As you read the article, consider that Congress pretty well knew about this in 2006 but did nothing. And the "reform minded" Demos (pardon my puking) have had the hammer since 1/2007. So their perfidy regarding their blocking new drilling actually has a twin.
If you block new supply, then the speculators can just keep on driving the price out of sight.
Read the article. It tells how this being done.
And don't forget that oil was around $55 when the Demos took over.
Posted by: Poker Player on May 23, 2008 01:44 AMI cannot remember how maney times i have tried telling friends this. All students should have to take one course in basic economic principles.
Posted by: Mike on May 23, 2008 06:16 AMLet's drill ANWR now! If ANWR is so fucking pristine and beautiful, how come people like Maxine Waters, John Kerry, Breck Girl, Ted Turner and other millionaire Democrats (What? You didn't know there were Democratic millionaires?)don't choose to live there? As far as a home for the caribou and other animals from ANWR is concerned, we will provide them with new homes....on our dinner tables!
Posted by: Darrell on May 23, 2008 06:43 AMFolks we aint seen nothing yet . Regardless of what the big eared dummy says there is no hope in sight . We are headed for some serious shit . We are looking at at least 4 years of Jimmy Carter style leadership regardless of who wins and our enemys know this. They will wait until we are at our weakest and then turn off the spigot . You folks in the big city's will get the worst of it and it will take people killing each other in the streets for food before this country wakes up. and by then its too late .
Soon the gang bangers will be staking out the gas station, waiting for a soccer mom to fill'r up, so they can hijack the van for the gasoline in the tank.
The National Guard will be escorting the tanker trucks.
The government will set price controls and there will be real shortages.
I wonder if the shooting war will start before or after the November election?
Posted by: Jim Macklin on May 23, 2008 10:54 AMAll you people worried about gas prices are so overreacting it makes me laugh. The democrats in Congress has a solution to lower gas prices -- they want to sue OPEC.
Talk about brilliant! Pander to their ecotard lobby by not allowing us to develop our own supplies and make their lawyer friends rich. Who votes for these assholes anyway? Oh, that's right. Assholes vote for these assholes.
Posted by: thatjerryguy on May 23, 2008 11:28 AMI really don't foresee the movers and shakers, namely Congress, doing anything about the price of oil...nor should they. The things that they should be doing, however they are not; such as comprimising on natural gas, clean burning coal, ANWR, and solar and wind power...AND oil exploration and drilling. They seem content to busy themselves with such issues as stolen plays in the NFL, steroids in baseball, grilling oil executives on pricing over which they have no control, and question a madam concerning her hooker business. Those minor issues of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid appear to be left until they hit crisis mode.
I am convinced that the NUMBER ONE concern of ANY of the members of congress is their party, without whose support they will never be re-elected. VOTES come before absolutely anything else.
I DO blame President Bush for one major lapse and that is to use the power of his presidency to explain to the country and the world just what our probelms are and the means to fix those problems. Many times President Reagon went right to the people with straight talk about crises.
Again, it all has to do with party and votes.
This is about so much more than just the US and OPEC. This is also about China, India, and the rest of the world increasing their energy/oil consumption, and there just not being enough to go around at the cheap prices we've been accustomed to for so long.
China alone has increased their petroleum comsumption SIX-fold between 1996 and 2006. Think OPEC is going to pump out six times as much oil to meet increased worldwide demands like this?
It's supply-and-demand all right--and supply is being totally outpaced.
Posted by: Dar on May 23, 2008 11:55 AMSomething that hasn't been mentioned...the other reason why gas boycotts don't work is overall demand hasn't shifted; it is merely delayed by a few days which, obviously, would have marginal impact on prices.
While I am a firm believer in the law of supply & demand, I do believe that the oil market is broken and has been for a long time. A pure market functions efficiently when the players play by the same rules and when there are economically viable substitutes. When you have a cartel like OPEC colluding to manipulate production levels, free market forces don't have a chance. Neither is there an energy substitute. That makes oil a monopoly commodity, and the players of course represent an oligopoly. It is not a free market.
Also, oil speculators are contributing to the bull run, and speculators don't necessarily follow supply & demand either because speculators are essentially gamblers. Since the gamblers got their asses whooped in the subprime, together with the fact that the stock market has been a roller coaster ride, they are putting their money in commodities. There has to be a bull market somewhere. That's what Kramer says all the time.
Feel free to yell at me. Those are my thoughts. If I'm a dumbass, then please educate me.
Posted by: Paul on May 23, 2008 01:15 PMOne question...Has anybody here vacationed in ANWR? Did not think so and isnt it really close the Artic circle? That is a place i want to spend a week relaxing. I could almost understand it if it was like Yellowstone park or something but its in northern Alaska, Alaska's total population is under 500,000 and i bet most of those folks have never been up there.
Posted by: greg on May 23, 2008 01:46 PMPaul - You are 100% correct. That still means we have to open up everything in this country for drilling. I just read where Chuck "the Schmuck" Schumer said that if OPEC would increase oil production by 1 million barrels a day, the price of oil would drop 25%. Funny, last month he said if ANWR were opened up and brought in 1 million barrels a day the price of gas would only drop by a penny. How do these assholes even look at themselves in the mirror every morning?
We're doomed!
Posted by: Denny on May 23, 2008 01:57 PMDenny-I called my senator last week and sent her an email. She is known up here as Senator Maria Cant-vote-well. Anyway, she sent me this really long email about how the primary solution is litigation. That was it in a nutshell. Oh, and of course, they want to rid oil subsidies and tax Big Oil even more. Yeah, Senator, that'll bring prices down. And trying to sue OPEC is like fighting the US Marines with sticks and stones.
We are doomed, sir. Remember your Fun with Google "We're fucked" post not too long ago? Well, you slid from the No. 2 spot to the No. 3. Dude, you're slacking.
Posted by: Paul on May 23, 2008 02:58 PMPrecious metals and reloads. Lots of reloads.
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Paul, you actually tried to communicate with that dimwit? Don't feel bad. I've tried it before too. Never works. She really Can't-think-well. She and Patty Murray would make a fine pair of bookends, though real bookends are probably smarter and at least serve a purpose.
Have you listened to the interrogation of the CEO's? It pisses me off that their salaries are coming under fire in a Senate interrogation. Does anyone do this to actors in Hollywood, to pop musicians, to professional athletes, or high-end lawyers?
Posted by: PeggyU on May 23, 2008 04:02 PM
PeggyU - And if you really want to talk about overpaid bozos, look no further than Congress. At least oil company CEOs provide a valuable service.
Posted by: Denny on May 23, 2008 04:35 PMI know PeggyU. I write and call her office at least five times a year regarding a multitude of issues. And in all cases except for one, she stands on the exact opposite of the issue from me. I guess that was a "no shit" comment. Anyway, the one issue we agreed on after all these years, and I am embarrassed to admit this, was the Dubai port issue. I don't want to get into that topic here, only that I may or may not have been correct in my opinion of that particular matter.
Maria is a horrible Senator and a puppet who can't think for herself without marching orders from Howard "The Scream" Dean. She emulates the majority of voters here in Western Washington, bunch of dumbasses who think feel-good intentions always lead to smart policies. Why Eastern Washington, which is generally more conservative, continues to vote in Murray is beyond me.
Posted by: Paul on May 23, 2008 05:30 PMSupply and Demand..yes, but its not that cut and dry, OPEC controls production, they feel a little poor cut production, raise prices.
And what to fuck do the dumb ass politions think they are going to prove by sueing OPEC???
Ya lets piss them off a little more then they will increase production.
First off supply and demand rules are changed because of the monopoly that the oil companies and OPEC have on oil. Meaning that the cost is elevated higher than it should be because of the lack of competition, meaning the free market failed. Second off a boycott would reduce demand and not supply. Supply means the source of the product, aka exon/mobile. Demand means the consumers that want the product. If consumers then stop wanting, as in a boycott, a product, then the demand gets reduced.
Posted by: blank on May 25, 2008 01:51 AMblank - You are partially right that OPEC does have a big effect on the market place. But that once again proves my point that we need to do more domestic drilling.
You are dead wrong that a boycott would reduce demand. That would only be true if consumers cut back their usage. That would not happen if we boycotted Exxon/Mobile. Consumers would just buy from all the other companies. In short, the demand would shift to the other oil companies who would either have to raise their prices, buy surplus oil from some other company (Exxon/Mobile?), or run out. The demand would remain the same and there would be less supply. Ergo, the boycott of Exxon/Mobile would not work.
So, as I said in my post, quit sending me the e-mails about boycotting Exxon/Mobile. Write your congresscritters and demand that ANWR and the coast be opened up for drilling. That is a short term solution while we try to develop alternate energy sources.
Posted by: Denny on May 25, 2008 04:27 PMWe need to bomb those people. Wait....
Posted by: vetfromhell on May 26, 2008 08:44 AMspeculators have driven up the price in the anticipation of supply problems. interesting today (memorial day) there was news that consumption is off in the US. It will be interesting to see how the speculators react to that if indeed it is born out.
Posted by: patrick on May 27, 2008 01:38 AM