They're americans, yes. And they'll be affected-also true. But, I'm an
american and I can either buy gas this week-or get a refill for my epileptic
medicine. (The pharmacy won't deliver anymore-gas being too expensive...)
Hmmm...I'm not being hurt? Old people aren't being hurt? And the average
consumer who will have to pay more money at the grocery store for milk and
bread for their kids because of shipping (trucking) prices going up won't be
hurt?
It's not the guy sitting in the booth, taking your money for the gas-it's
the owner of that station, the franchiser and ultimately the oil company.
And maybe if we all work together, we can get the government to not export
more oil to the Far East than we import and thus breaking the OPEC myth.
(Speaking of which-wasn't that what the Gulf War was about, anyway?
Protecting our overseas oil interests?)
Yes, it's a wonderful idea to develope new resources-but look at the EVs on
the market-they are so expensive, you have to make a 6 figure income to
qualify for a *lease*-yeah, the average American can afford that! It's not
enough to come up with new technologies-they have to be affordable and
therefore available to more than 10% of the population. Which means a
certain amount of altruism on the parts of corporations and shareholders.
(Like that's going to happen!)-or, government regulation. (Like that's going
to happen!)
If nothing else, all these little protests call attention to the
problem-(you don't think that Congress doesn't know about the senior
citizens picketing in L.A. at gas stations? AARP being one of the strongest
lobbies in the country.) It's better to make the sacrifice (I know,
scacrifice being such a strange concept in this day and age) and bringing
attention to the problem and making the statement that we, the people are
not sheep and cannot be pushed around. They will not win votes and they will
not get our money!
Laura G.
Vita brevis est: rapide agite, vigore strigate!
----- Original Message -----
From: Susan Hensley <susan@bearcom.com>
To: Spitfire List <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2000 12:59 PM
Subject: Gas boycott
>
> Hey ya'll,
>
> Before you get so all-fired crazy about these gas-outs, remember two
> things:
>
> 1) The people you are first affecting (and hurting) with this are
> Americans, and yourselves. When you refuse to buy gas for a certain
> length of time, that keeps money out of the service stations' gasoline
> pockets, so they therefore mark prices up (even more) on other things to
> recover those losses, hurting you, the American consumer. Don't forget
> service station owners are American citizens, and they need to eat and
> pay their bills just like the rest of us do.
>
> 2) "Gas-Outs" here do not affect OPEC or the cartels since everyone buys
> about the same amount of gas, just before and after the gas-out. Our
> not buying gas here for 24 hours, or two or three days, won't bother
> them in the least. A large chunk of the cost of our gas is taxes and
> fees, *American* taxes and fees, and if those lose revenues, guess what
> -- again they find other ways to recoup them, hurting you in the
> process. Plus, OPEC and the cartels' business is *SO* big, a waver in
> the American market will be like dropping a pebble into a lake.
>
> Gas prices are just something we have to live with. If you are so
> worried about the price of gas, work on developing clean-air systems (to
> lessen fees on gas for that reason), down-sizing government (to reduce
> those taxes), and everything else we pay taxes and fees on when we buy a
> gallon of gas.
>
> We go through this every year, ya'll. Those of us who have been on the
> list a while have seen this topic come around each year with
> regularity. Let's just move on, okay?
>
> (I'm not an opinionated person -- I just play one in real life! ;)
>
> Just my two cents (plus another 37 cents for state and local taxes and
> 54 cents in regulatory fees).
>
> Keep Triumphing,
> Susan :)
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