No Gas Day

[snoscythe]

Did any of you "participate" (if you can call refraining from doing something most of us do only once every 11 days "participating") in the faddish No Gas Day today?

These kind of "feel good with minimal (or no) action" movements crack me up. Especially this one--go without purchasing a fungible resource that most people stockpile in 11-day rations. In essence, all people are doing (meaning those people who participate in this nonsense knowingly) is simply deciding to make their purchase on some other day--the day before or the day after. Statistically, only 9% of people will need to even adjust their behavior to participate--the other 91% wouldn't be buying gas today anyway since they have enough in their tank to not even think about filling up. So, only 9% of people have a chance to participate by changing their behavior. Of those people who choose to participate, most participate by buying gas yesterday or tomorrow.

In short, No Gas Day is a "feel-good with minimal (or no) action" day that has minimal or no effect on the market of a fungible resource--a very small fraction of people are simply shifting their purchase by +/-24 hours--something that has nil effect on the the supply/demand/speculation cost structure of futures prices in oil.

If you want to do something to change the price in oil/gas, a boycott is the most effective grassroots way to do it--a long-term refusal to purchase and to make do without or with substitutes. Fat chance of getting Americans to do that. The other option is to reduce taxes on gasoline (about 14% of what you pay for gas is taxes) or to strengthen the weakening dollar.

[hawkwing]

No gas days are as useful as women saying the color of your bra on facebook to fight breast cancer.

[scott715]

We still need to buy gas but what if you boycott just one company? There has been an atempt to boycott Exxon in hopes that they would lower there prices and start a price war. I guess it has not worked out too well.

[Schmoe]

Urroner once tried to have a no gas day, but the bean burritos are just too addictive...

[ABYUFAN]

As chance had it I actually bought the most expensive gas in my neighborhood that day (out of convienience) Ooops sorry random facebook folks for not caring....

[snoscythe]

We still need to buy gas but what if you boycott just one company? There has been an atempt to boycott Exxon in hopes that they would lower there prices and start a price war. I guess it has not worked out too well.

I don't know that this idea would have that effect. Exxon might drop prices until they regain sales points, but even then other stations would be selling at pre-boycott volume at a much better price. To incentivize them to cut prices, you'd have to hit their profits, which would only happen if Exxon started cutting yheir marketshare with boycott driven price cuts......but that would mean people are back to buying at Exxon in droves, which means the boycott is over.

It's a nice idea, but it would require much more involvement, coordination, and self-sacrifice than what Americans are going to be willing to invest.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[hawkwing]

Besides, the only people who would hurt for the first few months would be the station owners and employers. None of which are employed by Exxon.

[Metal Bubba]

No gas days are as useful as women saying the color of your bra on facebook to fight breast cancer.

Or men on Facebook saying which nut hangs lower to fight testicular cancer.

[Metal Bubba]

Urroner once tried to have a no gas day, but the bean burritos are just too addictive...

I feel about Uronner much the same way as Kris Jenkins used to feel about Warren Sapp. And I quote:

"I hate him. He talks too much, he doesn't make sense, he's fat, he's sloppy, he acts like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He's ugly, he stinks, his mouth stinks, his breath stinks, and basically his soul stinks, too. Not too many people have personalities like that and survive in life. I don't know how he does it."

[BroncoBot]

Just for fun (I didn't participate because I thought it was a stupid idea for the same reasons listed above) so what if no one bought gas for a month? 2 months? I could probably find a way to live without driving for a few months and would love to see if prices would drop if enough people joined in.