[TechAssist] Re: [TechAssist-B] Gas Boycott, After Carefull Thought and Consideration

  • From: Gary McCartney <gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 21:15:40 -0400

Taking your car less and spending money on bus tickets while still 
paying those high insurance premiums for having the car sit in the 
driveway doesn't make much sense either.

Lets get this topic off the repair list.




Gary McCartney

McCartney Electronics
Guelph Ontario Canada
Est. 1984
email: gary (at) number63.ca








Damon wrote:
> Best thing to do is buy an electric scooter or regular bike and do your
> local shopping using that....keep the car for long trips only, and limit
> those to maybe once weekly if they were daily, or once monthly if they were
> weekly....Maybe take the bus instead.....
> 
> Damon B
> Telrad Electronics
> Fort Wayne IN
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "J Silverman" <greentron@xxxxxxx>
> To: <repair@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Dallas Barnett" <cherokeechief35@xxxxxxxxx>;
> "Jannis Barnett" <jannis_k_barnett@xxxxxxxxx>; "Rick Barnett"
> <usnguardian@xxxxxxx>; "George Finley" <gcf1933@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Greg And
> Desi Finley" <etcetera@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Janet Finley"
> <wildflower432003@xxxxxxxxx>; "RepairWorld ListBot"
> <listbot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 3:19 PM
> Subject: [TechAssist] Re: [TechAssist-B] Gas Boycott, After Carefull Thought
> and Consideration
> 
> 
> 
>>This is a world-wide thing, not just a problem here. So what we do will
> 
> have
> 
>>little effect on the situation. If there is a gasoline surplus here, it
> 
> will
> 
>>just be diverted to some other country where it is needed. Thats why there
>>isnt much that the government can do about the price. Places where the
>>government puts heavy taxes on gasoline, it costs over $6 a gallon.
>>The economy of some poor countries is being totally devastated by the cost
>>of oil and gas. On the other hand, the oil producing countries are
> 
> enjoying
> 
>>the windfall and using the extra money to build cities, schools,
> 
> hospitals,
> 
>>etc. like mad.
>>Jerry Silverman
>>Greentron Inc
>>4 Newland Ave
>>Greenville SC 29609
>>Fax/Phone 864 232 3889
>>mail to: greentron@xxxxxxx
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Rochester Electronics" <pasthecash@xxxxxxxxx>
>>To: "Dallas Barnett" <cherokeechief35@xxxxxxxxx>; "Jannis Barnett"
>><jannis_k_barnett@xxxxxxxxx>; "Rick Barnett" <usnguardian@xxxxxxx>;
> 
> "George
> 
>>Finley" <gcf1933@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Greg And Desi Finley"
>><etcetera@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Janet Finley" <wildflower432003@xxxxxxxxx>;
>>"RepairWorld ListBot" <listbot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <repair@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
>><techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 10:56 AM
>>Subject: [TechAssist-B] Gas Boycott, After Carefull Thought and
>>Consideration
>>
>>
>>
>>>To all who think a one day "GAS OUT" will lower fuel
>>>prices,
>>>
>>>    Good idea but NEVER EFECTIVE, advocating
>>>one-day gasoline boycotts are proof that some bad
>>>ideas never go away; they just keep getting recycled
>>>year after year.
>>>
>>>   Those who really want to send a "message" to oil
>>>suppliers should try not buying any gasoline for
>>>several months in a row.
>>>
>>>   This year's e-mail (proposing a one-day "gas out"
>>>on 1 September 2005) is a carbon copy of the e-mail
>>>that circulated in May 2004 (right down to the
>>>labeling of the putative boycott effort as "STICK IT
>>>UP THEIR BEHINDS DAY"), which was itself a recasting
>>>of similar messages that have been circulating since
>>>1999. All of them are reminders that "protest" schemes
>>>that don't cost the participants any inconvenience,
>>>hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite
>>>their dubious effectiveness. A one-day "gas out" was
>>>proposed in 1999, and a three-day-long event was
>>>called for in 2000, but both drew little participation
>>>and had n
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> based upon flawed premises. This year's
>>>version is no
>>>different.
>>>
>>>     First of all, everyone's "not purchasing a drop
>>>of gasoline for one day" will not cause oil companies
>>>to "choke on their stockpiles." Oil companies run
>>>their inventories on a weekly basis, and since the
>>>"gas out" scheme doesn't call on people to buy less
>>>gasoline but simply to shift their date of purchase by
>>>one day, oil company stockpiles won't be affected at
>>>all.
>>>
>>>    Next, merely shifting the day of purchase will not
>>>"hit the entire industry with a net loss of over $4.6
>>>billion." Consumers won't be buying any less gasoline
>>>under this "gas out" proposal; they'll simply be
>>>purchasing gas a day earlier or a day later than they
>>>usually would. The very same amount of gasoline will
>>>be sold either way, so the oil companies aren't going
>>>to lose any money at all.
>>>
>>>   By definition, a boycott involves the doing without
>>>of something, with the renunciation of the boycotted
>>>product held up as tangible proof to those who supply
>>>the commodity that consumers are prepared to do
>>>without it unless changes are made. What the "gas out"
>>>calls for isn't consumers' swearing off using or
>>>buying gasoline, even for a short time, but simply
>>>shifting their purchases by one day. Because the "gas
>>>out" doesn't call on consumers to make a sacrifice by
>>>actually giving up something, the threat it poses is a
>>>hollow one.
>>>
>>>   Not buying gas on a designated day may make people
>>>feel a bit better about things by providing them a
>>>chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices,
>>>but the action won't have any real impact on retail
>>>prices. An effective protest would involve something
>>>like organizing people to forswear the use of their
>>>cars on specified days, an act that could effectively
>>>demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline
>>>prices stay up, American consumers are prepared to
>>>move to carpooling and public transportation for the
>>>long term. Simply changing the day one buys gas,
>>>however, imparts no such threat, because nothing is
>>>being done without.
>>>
>>>   Moreover, the primary potential effect of the type
>>>of boycott proposed in the "gas out" messages is to
>>>hurt those at the very end of the oil-to-gasoline
>>>chain, service station operators ? the people who have
>>>the least say in setting gasoline prices. As such, the
>>>"gas out" is a punch on the nose delivered to the
>>>wrong person.
>>>
>>>   Either apathy or an outbreak of common sense has
>>>made previous "gas outs" non-events with very low
>>>levels of participation.
>>>
>>>   Gasoline is a fungible, global commodity, its price
>>>subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand.
>>>No amount of consumer gimmickry and showmanship will
>>>lower its price in the long run; only a significant,
>>>ongoing reduction in demand will accomplish that goal.
>>>Unfortunately, for many people achieving that goal
>>>would mean cutting down on their driving or opting for
>>>less desirable economy cars over less fuel-efficient
>>>models, solutions they find unappealing.
>>>
>>>   An event like a "gas out" can sometimes do some
>>>good by calling attention to a cause and sending a
>>>message. In this case, though, the only message being
>>>sent is: "We consumers are so desperate for gasoline
>>>that we can't even do without it for a few days to
>>>demonstrate our dissatisfaction with its cost." What
>>>supplier is going to respond to a message like that by
>>>lowering its prices? Those who really want to send a
>>>"message" to oil suppliers should try not buying any
>>>gasoline for several months in a row.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Mike Barnett
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>____________________________________________________
>>>Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
>>>http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
>>>
>>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>----------
>>
>>>This Email list is Private. Remove:
> 
> http://www.tech-assist.org/remove.htm
> 
>>>Email Archive: http://www.circuitwork.com/archive/REPAIR
>>>To modify your subscription to our back up server log in here:
>>>http://www.circuitwork.com/files/ecar/lsg2.cgi
>>>Appliance Repair List:
>>
>>http://www.tech-assist.org/secure/tip/chatjoin.htm#app
>>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>----------
>>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> ---
> 
>>This Email List is accessible to the general public through search
> 
> engines. Remove: http://www.tech-assist.org/remove.htm
> 
>>Set Vacation
> 
> mailto:ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=set%20techassist%20vacation
> 
>>Lost Password: http://www.tech-assist.org  and select "Login Problems?".
>>Email Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/techassist/
>>
> 
> 
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This Email List is accessible to the general public through search engines. 
> Remove: http://www.tech-assist.org/remove.htm
> Set Vacation mailto:ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=set%20techassist%20vacation
> Lost Password: http://www.tech-assist.org  and select "Login Problems?".
> Email Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/techassist/
> 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Email List is accessible to the general public through search engines. 
Remove: http://www.tech-assist.org/remove.htm
Set Vacation mailto:ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=set%20techassist%20vacation
Lost Password: http://www.tech-assist.org  and select "Login Problems?".
Email Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/techassist/

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. techassist
  3. Archive
  4. 08-2005