05-10-07 by dugan
I don’t want to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the May 15 gasoline boycott, promoted in an e-mail campaign. It might get the attention of our sleeping politicians, which would be excellent. But it won’t reduce gasoline prices 30% or even 5%, and claims that the last boycott did so are mistaken. Never happened. Here’s the problem:
First, such efforts grab only a fraction of the buying market. And gasoline isn’t potato chips or shoes, which we can all do without or delay purchasing for a long period. Oil companies won’t lose anything, because purchases before and after the brief boycott will make up the difference. Efforts to boycott one company, such as Exxon, just shift the demand to other brands, which sell more gasoline. Exxon then sells any excess gasoline on the wholesale market.
At the same time, a boycott diverts motorists’ energy and anger from elected officials, the only group able to effect change. So it’s not harmful, just ineffective in its stated purpose. I wish the reality was different.
OilWatchDog’s petition to Gov. Schwarzenegger, which thousands of readers have already signed, focuses on the people who most need a kick: the politicians we elected to protect us. So boycott and sign