I recently received a forwarded email that I can only assume has made its way around the Internet in one way or another and most people have read its message or at least heard of it. The gist of the message is that if everyone in the country were to stop buying gasoline from Exxon and Mobil stations the price of gas would be reduced to approximately $1.30 per gallon. It goes on to say that if this works the way the architect of the message, a supposed mathematician, intends it to it could reach 300,000,000 U.S. citizens and have a major impact on gasoline prices.
Speaking in terms of economics, gasoline prices are inelastic and although the petrochemical industry as a whole does not entirely conform to traditional supply and demand models, the theoretical basis is the same. I can assume that if you have gone to college in the last 10 years you have taken some sort of economics class and can follow what I am saying, although I understand that you had four years and there could have been some things you missed. The reason the price of gasoline increases is because the good is a non-renewable resource. If we could not grow more trees, the price of paper and lumber would be high. The reason gasoline prices stay high is because the market will allow them too do so. As long as consumers are willing to pay high prices for gasoline the gas company will keep charging as much as they can for that good, and it would be a communist act to ask them to do otherwise.
To think that consumers have that much control over the gasoline market is absurd. It is entirely logical to believe that prices are determined when a market situation is facilitated and willing buyers and sellers conduct transactions. Under normal market conditions a knowledgeable buyer will not pay more for a good than he/she feels it is worth, and likewise a seller will not sell for less than his good is worth. This works for the price of corn, the price of paper and the price of rubber bands, not the price of gasoline. Not to mention that oil companies can restrict the production of oil at any time they see fit. Throw in the element of sovereignty and no U.S. jurisdiction and it further intensifies the issue.
To put this myth to rest, in my own head at least, about reaching 300,000,000 people if you follow the directions in the email is what I plan to do now. First, according to the 2000 Census there are only 281,000,000 +/- U.S. citizens, which ordinarily would not be a problem but not all of them own or drive cars and about 80,000,000 of them are under the age of 18. There are approximately 205,000,000 Internet users in the U.S. and guess how large a population of those people are your 9-year-old sister. The median age of Internet users in the U.S. is around 30.
Furthermore, Exxon Mobil is not only the largest American company, it is the largest oil company in the world. Fortune Magazine released its list of the 500 largest corporations on April 17th. In 2005 Exxon Mobil reported an increase in revenues of 25.5% and an increase in profits of 42.6%. The company has a market value of $372,791,600,000 and has returned an annual rate of 13.6% to anyone who has owned the stock in the last ten years. They are considered by some, and I cannot say I dissociate myself from these people, the best run company in the world by any conceivable measure. We should applaud them for being not only efficient and productive but also fiscally responsible, and we would if they made something like Q-tips. The problem with Q-tips is that they aren’t as addictive as heroine and harder to quit than a five pack a day habit. I mean I like Q-tips but I just can't sell my Hummer Limousine.
You know what’s fun about being the largest producer of petroleum-based products in the world? They’re not just good for gas and oil! Petroleum is used to make everyone’s favorite life-saving, food-keeping, fun-loving product, plastics. The other great thing is they can sell their products to anyone they want. Do you know what brand of gas you are buying at Fred’s Gas, Stop & Shop, BJ’s Gas and every other private label gas station in the country? I do! Exxon Mobil produces an average of 1.5 billion barrels of oil and gas per year, which is about 6% of all the oil and gas produced in the world.
So stop buying gas at Exxon and Mobil stations if you want, I’m not going to, I’m also not going to stop taking the bus to work everyday, nor am I going to cancel my flight to Cancun for Spring Break 2006, Yo MTV Raps! All things which require refined petroleum products, well, with the exception of MTV Raps. While we are in such a mood to exercise our rights as Americans by protesting, we should boycott the NASA mission to Mars and also picket in front of the thermostats linked to our home heating systems. I recommend keeping all of your lights off in your house as well, and while you are at it you should probably stop mowing your lawn and kick your little brother off of that stupid zippy scooter he rides up and down my street. Or, we could all drive less, carpool more, drive fuel-saving hybrid cars, electric cars or even those cars that run on corn and even try to use other sources of energy and not waste as much of EVERYTHING as we do in the states. Maybe while we are in such a “help humanity by lowering gas prices” mood we should divert some of that energy to getting college degrees in chemical engineering and write our dissertations on alternative energy sources.
