Boycott Shows Ignorance
Thursday, April 27th, 2006A Texas Judge is urging the people of his community to boycott the local Exxon/Mobile gas station until it drops it’s prices to $1.30 per gallon:
Bee County judge Jimmy Martinez is asking for a boycott and has pushed a major county resolution encouraging citizens of Beeville, about 90 miles Southeast of San Antonio, to not get their fuel at Exxon-Mobil stations.
“We’re in a crisis. This is absolutely a crisis,â€? Judge Jimmy Martinez tells News 4 WOAI. “Our families and our country are suffering from this.â€?
The Bee County judge says he’s had enough and has decided to take a stand.
“This is hurting not only the convenience stores, but its hurting our restaurants, its hurting our economy,â€? says Martinez. “It’s hurting everyone.â€?
Starting Monday, Martinez wants people to stop buying gas at the Exxon stations until the price goes back down to $1.30 a gallon.
First off, how did he pick $1.30 a gallon as the target price? It’s been a long time since gas has been that cheap. This guy is living in a dream world. Next, is this guy so ignorant that he has no idea how the local gas stations price the products? Even I know that each morning the owner of a gas station looks at the prices posted by his competition and then adjusts his prices accordingly, so that in one area, there is almost never more than a cent or two difference in prices. If Exxon/Mobile is charging $3.00 a gallon for gas, it’s a safe bet that Shell, Valero, and Chevron are charging the same thing. Boycotting only one company makes absolutely no sense.
Apparently, Judge Martinez hasn’t got a clue:
Judge Martinez says he doesn’t expect anyone to lose their job, but he wants to send a message and make a point.
“It’s time for local officials to take a stand, to take a vote on what’s happening to our own families in our own backyard,â€? says Martinez.
The judge says he hopes the Bee County boycott will set a precedent throughout the state. He’s in the process of emailing and faxing the resolution to all 253 Texas counties, and says he’s getting a good response.
I haven’t received any emails from him, so I have no idea who he is sending his resolution to. All his efforts are going to do is hurt the local businesses of his constituents, especially if everyone is charging the same for gas and he’s only boycotting one of them.
He’s going to send a message, alright. The message will be, “Hey, look at how ignorant I am.”
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April 30th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
looks like your the ignorant one, or at least somone who isn’t in touch with the real world.
over 250,000 people participated in this aol poll, and 94% of them said they would boycott big oil firms. it’s on the aol home page…
your just 1 voice. listen to what over 250000 people have to say.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060430160209990003&ncid=NWS00010000000001
May 1st, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Holding out for a gas retailer to lower the price of his product to less than half of what it costs to make it isn’t a sign of intelligence; it shows a horrible lack of understanding about free market economics. Gas retailers get an average profit of 8% on their products; most retailers make a profit of 15% or more. How can you say they are “gouging” anyone?
If it were not for “big oil” many millions of elderly and retired folks would have no retirement funds because their 401k investments would not be worth anything.