We've all seen those boycott Mobil chain letters

[GROUCHO MARX]

We've all seen those boycott Mobil chain letters. The letter would say that if everyone would boycott Mobil gas stations, the price of gasoline could be brought down. I never thought it would work because people would drive a mile to save a penny a gallon and Mobil could undercut another retailer by its sheer size.

However, I wonder if a large bank could be brought down by a boycott? If the bank lost virtually everyone of its small depositors. Would the corporate and larger depositors sustain the large bank?

 

[GumbyJarvis]

I worked at a Racetrac on one of those "Boycott Gas Days" where "DONT FILL UP AND GAS PRICE WILL GO DOWN IN THE AREA!!!1!!"


....it didnt work. at 3pm gas actually went up 2 cents.

Needless to say, lol, it was nice, Slow day, got everything clean, and didnt have to constantly mop up little kids messes by the icee machine.

 

[DBMaster]

If the goal of the "boycott" was to somehow cut several miles of driving per week, or begin to carpool, that MIGHT make some difference. Simply choosing to not buy gas on a single day means nothing since without cutting down on driving you are still USING the same amount. But, as we have all seen in the past year, even with surplus supply and less demand the price can still go up. Stop blaming the government and the Arabs! The cause is our very own beloved system of capitalism. It's all about speculation and the commodities market. We're a bunch of morons - truly!

 

[getnpsi]

I've also read that we cant even refine the oil that we pump out. We sell our own oil and refine other crude from other countries. In a roundabout way its good for global business but not everyone plays fair (china). Same with pollution control. We can clean up our air and our water but if china doesn't then it floats over here anyway.

 

[MarkStock]

Originally Posted By: getnpsi
I've also read that we cant even refine the oil that we pump out. We sell our own oil and refine other crude from other countries. In a roundabout way its good for global business but not everyone plays fair (china). Same with pollution control. We can clean up our air and our water but if china doesn't then it floats over here anyway.


Per capita, the US puts out way more pollution than any other country. Right now in total as well. So if the "float" theory of pollution is right, we're hurting and have been hurting the rest of the world for a while now. A bit ironic that you're worried about someone else polluting you now.

China knows they're going to have a (bigger) problem in the future and are investing in renewable energy. Strangely enough, there's more political will and ability to execute there.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: getnpsi
I've also read that we cant even refine the oil that we pump out. We sell our own oil and refine other crude from other countries. In a roundabout way its good for global business but not everyone plays fair (china). Same with pollution control. We can clean up our air and our water but if china doesn't then it floats over here anyway.


Oz does that too...apparently the stuff that gets dug up in WA is so "good" that other countries pay a premium for it, and we get cheap dirty stuff to refine for fuel.

The new power stations that are going in in China are very much way ahead of the aged designs that we (US and Oz) run in terms of efficiency and emissions.

 

[Silk]

It's boycott BP over here, they are always first to raise their prices.

 

[daves87rs]

90% of the population do not even know how to do it right.....

 

[kb01]

Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX

However, I wonder if a large bank could be brought down by a boycott? If the bank lost virtually everyone of its small depositors. Would the corporate and larger depositors sustain the large bank?


I'm not sure how true it is but I've always been under the impression that small depositors were money losers for the banks and they would like nothing more but to be out of that market.

Banks can essentially borrow money for free from the Fed, so piddly deposits are essentially meaningless. Prior to the CARD Act, the free savings & checking accounts were a gateway to other, more profitable services (mainly credit cards). The CARD Act has really reigned that in, which is why these kinds of accounts are disappearing.

In terms of gas boycotts -- Oil is a global commodity. Unless the USA goes all Chavez, and nationalizes its oil reserves and oil companies, unused oil will just be sold somewhere else, to the highest bidder.

 

[DBMaster]

If you don't cut actual demand for gasoline then deciding to not buy it for one day or one week makes no difference. Also, it would be tough to actually boycott a particular oil company because its oil ends up at a lot more locations than just it's own branded gas stations.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: MarkStock
Originally Posted By: getnpsi
I've also read that we cant even refine the oil that we pump out. We sell our own oil and refine other crude from other countries. In a roundabout way its good for global business but not everyone plays fair (china). Same with pollution control. We can clean up our air and our water but if china doesn't then it floats over here anyway.


Per capita, the US puts out way more pollution than any other country. Right now in total as well. So if the "float" theory of pollution is right, we're hurting and have been hurting the rest of the world for a while now. A bit ironic that you're worried about someone else polluting you now.

China knows they're going to have a (bigger) problem in the future and are investing in renewable energy. Strangely enough, there's more political will and ability to execute there.


I've been looking, but cannot seem to find much that supports the claim that the US produces more pollution than any other country per capita.

Could you supply a source for this information? What do you consider pollution?

 

[surfstar]

I boycott the boycotts. They always fail, so it seems to work everytime.






[this should have been GROUCHO's line, if someone else started the thread]

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
Stop blaming the government and the Arabs! The cause is our very own beloved system of capitalism. It's all about speculation and the commodities market. We're a bunch of morons - truly!

LOL

State run oil companies control at least 75% of the worlds oil supply so blaming the governments of the world is precisely what we should be doing. And those same governments speculate as to what will be the most profitable price point for them.

As for the price of gas:

 

[Tempest]

Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX

However, I wonder if a large bank could be brought down by a boycott? If the bank lost virtually everyone of its small depositors. Would the corporate and larger depositors sustain the large bank?

Best way to bring down a bank is put out an effective rumor that the bank is going to fail and cause a run on it.