driver on 15/4/2006 at 10:41
It's just another crappy chain letter/e-mail, instead this time you don't get cancer for not forwarding it to 10 of your friends, you get more expensive petrol.
Hit 'em where it hurts, chief.
Enchantermon on 15/4/2006 at 11:45
(
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp) Here's what Snopes has to say.
Frankly, even without Snopes, I wouldn't believe this for a second. Exactly how does this make more sense than the "Don't buy gas on this day!" campaign? Like Fafhrd said: demand is up, supply is down. That's why gas prices are higher.
That said, I'm positive that consumers are being gypped. My town got our very first Farm Fresh store last year. It's a grocery store, for those who don't know. A little while after the grand opening, reports came in that Farm Fresh was installing gasoline pumps and was going to sell its own gas. Sure enough, that's what happened. They even have some items in the store that, if you buy them, will save you money on gas (just cents, between $0.02 and $0.20 I think, but it definitely helps). When the gas pumps opened, the gas price was $1.19 for Regular. Everyone else was way higher, getting close to the $2.00 mark. What happened? Prices dropped. Almost immediately. They came all the way down to Farm Fresh's level, even a bit below. And some say that the gas companies aren't ripping us off? Farm Fresh was eventually forced to raise their prices also, but at least they gave us a little relief.
Anyway. I
do believe we're being ripped off, but I
don't believe that a boycott like that is going to change anything. What we need is to hold gas companies more accountable for their price hikes. If we white glove the big guns, we may find out the real reason why prices are getting higher, whether it is a smaller supply, bigger demand, price gouging, or a combonation of the three.
Convict on 15/4/2006 at 11:56
As was mentioned in The Australian(?), price rises of oil are a good thing because people will buy less oil (petrol) and therefore our current account deficit will decrease.
D'Juhn Keep on 15/4/2006 at 12:00
Uh, could you provide any proof of that happening? Sounds a bit dubious, really.
Convict on 15/4/2006 at 12:02
Do you mean me or someone else?
SD on 15/4/2006 at 12:07
Quote Posted by Enchantermon
I
do believe we're being ripped off
You would think that, because you've been conditioned into believing that your petrol should be cheaper than lemonade.
Prices here begin at around $6 a (US) gallon, and people still manage to drive their cars from A to B.
But then, the cost to the environment is far greater than that to the consumer, whatever they charge.
Enchantermon on 15/4/2006 at 12:32
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
You would think that, because you've been conditioned into believing that your petrol should be cheaper than lemonade.
Though it's true that I grew up seeing really cheap gas prices and became used to it (though I never personally bought gas when it was that cheap), I don't believe what I do because of the lower prices I'm used to seeing, but because of the explaination I gave in my post. I don't believe that we're being ripped off because gas prices are higher than $0.98 a gallon, but because of how low the companies were able to drop their prices when met with some healthy competition. In other words, they dropped prices when they stood to lose money for not doing so. Sounds shifty to me.
D'Juhn Keep on 15/4/2006 at 13:30
Quote Posted by Convict
Do you mean me or someone else?
Yes, I meant you. I'd have thought me replying directly below your post would give it away, but nm
tungsten on 15/4/2006 at 14:51
I really don't see your problems concerning prices of some liquid you simply burn to propel your car. That is so easily replaced with some other technology. But try replacing all plastic (and many other things from daily life) when the oil gets expensive, just because some fools burn the precious oil instead of using it.
SD on 15/4/2006 at 15:33
Quote Posted by tungsten
I really don't see your problems concerning prices of some liquid you simply burn to propel your car. That is so easily replaced with some other technology. But try replacing all plastic (and many other things from daily life) when the oil gets expensive, just because some fools burn the precious oil instead of using it.
Well, not all plastics are manufactured from crude oil, either. There are plenty of alternatives there too. Oil has been rendered entirely unnecessary by modern technology, which makes the numerous wars fought in its name even more terrible.
