On your next trip to the gas station.

[peace13]

It was a sad event for me this morning. I filled my tank and gas was 50 cents more per gallon than when I last filled up, not more than two weeks ago. From this day forward I refuse to buy anything but gas at the 'gas' station. No milk or beer or candy or bread or donuts or coffee or cigarettes or oil or washer fluid. NOTHING! This is one leverage that we as consumers have. Some will say that this only hurts the store owner not the oil company. Hey you gotta start somewhere and this looks like a beginning to me. The store owners say they are powerless to the cost of fuel. Let's just see.

[sharp_stick]

1. It does hurt just the store owner

he/she is probably selling the gas at cost or even in some cases below cost. When they go out of business you will have to go to one of fewer gas stations and pay even more because the oil companies are charging that guy more because demand is so high in your neighborhood and supply is so low.

The only option we have AFAIC is to use less fuel.

[youthere]

3. I agree. In fact, given that the owners of our local gas station are good friends of ours..

and we know how much they've been struggling, we have been trying to ONLY buy our "sundries" there (soda, a cup of coffee, an emergency loaf of bread etc). We obviously can't afford to do a LOT but every little bit helps.

[RB TexLa]

8. If they are selling it at cost or below, they will face fines in many states

many, if not most states have a minimum mark up on gasoline, it's when prices are up are when they catch more people breaking the law.

[GOTV]

2. I'm gonna kick my dog when gas prices rise - Hey, you gotta start somewhere....

... Some will say my dog has nothing to do with gas prices. Let's just see.

Until we are willing to start leaving the car in the garage when we used to take the car out, nothing will change.

Anything else is just wanking

[OlderButWiser]

5. Thanks,

that was a good one!

[Javaman]

7. You are exactly right...

I have been taking the bus to work now for over a year and roughly fill my car about once every 2 months.

I hated traffic and I set a limit on what I will pay for gas, once it reached that point, I started taking the bus.

many people I work with could easily take the bus and I ask them why they don't? many hem and haw, look sheepish and admit that they should, but do they? naaaa. They would rather bitch and complain.

people love the idea of the american dream. However it has mutated so many times over the past century, I honestly don't believe that people know what it is.

the american dream is living a life of freedom. period. Not buying as much crap as possible. not buying houses that they can never ever dream to afford, but the concept of having personal rights that can never be taken away.

Well, we can kiss that good bye. yeah after 9/11 everything changed. we lost our freedoms.

If there ever was a time to take back your freedom and have your voice heard, now is that time and it starts with something very simple.

stop driving or drive less. Once the demand for gas goes down, the price will as well and at the same time, less co2 and heavy metals are put into the air. it's a win win.

but alas, like my coworkers, americans believe their only true right is to complain and not do a damn thing to change the problem.

[peace13]

15. Just because you are doing your part do not assume that

others are not. When we get the keys to our government back we can solve a myriad of problems. Until then we have to use the tools that we do have to bring about change. One important tool is our brain and we should brainstorm more and belittle less. Hand wringing has never been an effective tool for change.

[taterguy]

4. So you'll drive out of your way to buy stuff you could've got at the gas station?

To protest high gas prices.

Just for the record, my local convenience store sells beer and smokes cheaper than the grocery store. I'll be damned if I'll pay more money and go out of my way just to make a point.

[OlderButWiser]

6. And this was...

...a good point.

[madmom]

9. I work in a BIG grocery store who happens to be in a price war with

a competitor right now. Over the weekend we had fresh produce on sale cheap, I saw the owner of my closest convenient store with several cart loads of this stuff heard him happily exclaimed "I can sell these for triple the price cuz nobody wants to drive clear across town" just sayin' :shrug:

[peace13]

14. Of course not!

Lucky you on the reasonable prices.

[peace13]

10. Many people do not have the luxury of government subsidized

public transportation. Those people are held hostage by the oil companies and this administration. Oil profits are at a record high. In the meantime many small businesses and individuals are going bankrupt. It seems that is fine with many here. I agree, take the bus when you can but that should not be the limit to our thinking.

[Warpy]

11. Sure, if you want fewer gas stations

The reason they all started selling that stuff is that they weren't making a living on the profit margin the oil companies allow per gallon. Remember also that people are already buying less gas because they can't afford to drive anywhere for fun. Hitting them across the board will just ensure more of them go belly up. Those of us who are OLD saw that happen in the 70s as drivers expressed their rage by refusing buy anything but gas.

That overall decrease in driving may hurt the giants, but I wouldn't bet on it. I'm sure they've already figured that into their monopolistic price fixing.

All we can do is keep voting for Democrats and hope the vestige of a conscience in whatever tool we're offered causes him/her to investigate just why antitrust laws aren't being applied to gas refiners, among others.

We can also put the gas hog out of its misery and buy something with 4 cylinders. The new ones are surprisingly roomy and have enough zip to get up La Bajada (engine slayer hill) in fourth gear.

If we rent, we can start searching for a place closer to work.

If we're healthy, we can start biking when we're running small errands.

Just don't take out your anger on station owners. It's not their fault and you really don't want them to close down and take jobs at Wally's, do you?

[RedStateShame]

12. How about using public transit? Or a bike? Or your feet?

And if you don't live in an area with public transit, I completely understand. But, really, I think a lot of efforts to make a statement in the face of gas price gouging is well intended, but poorly executed. I'm considering selling my car and buying a moped or a scooter, and I take the bus to and from work every day. It's not a lot, granted, but it is a significant amount of oil that is saved from consumption. It seems like those efforts should be more vocalized that those currently pitched. Mind you, I mean no offense by your proposal, but the folks that run convenience stores have their hands tied just like the rest of us do.

[peace13]

13. I understand, everyone who can walk or bike or bus will

but many will not have that luxury. It is good to be concerned about the mini-mart owner but there are many people who will be without jobs if we do not do something about the record oil company profits. That is an important issue issue here.

[MadHound]

23. The only proper way to hurt the oil companies is to use less gas

I'm in much the same boat as you are. I live in a rural area, with no public transportation options. My round trip commute is thirty four miles a day. In order to save on both money and gas, this is what I commute on:


It cruises at 55-60, it gets aprox. 100 mpg. It is a Bajaj Chetak scooter that I got almost two years ago when prices were shooting through the roof. Eight thousand miles later, and it's still going strong. You can find out more about these scooters at <http://www.bajajusa.com> I paid $2800 for mine, and it is the best money I've invested in a long while.

Boycotting cigs, sodas, etc. punishes the wrong person, the store owner who has absolutely no control over the price of gas. The only way to punish those responsible for these gas prices, the oil companies, is to use less gas. This is one very effective way of doing so. I love my scooter, and ride it anytime that it is dry and at least 28 degrees outside. I have severly slashed my fuel budget, even in a time of rising gas prices.

[MadHound]

24. The only proper way to hurt the oil companies is to use less gas

I'm in much the same boat as you are. I live in a rural area, with no public transportation options. My round trip commute is thirty four miles a day. In order to save on both money and gas, this is what I commute on:


It cruises at 55-60, it gets aprox. 100 mpg. It is a Bajaj Chetak scooter that I got almost two years ago when prices were shooting through the roof. Eight thousand miles later, and it's still going strong. You can find out more about these scooters at <http://www.bajajusa.com> I paid $2800 for mine, and it is the best money I've invested in a long while.

Boycotting cigs, sodas, etc. punishes the wrong person, the store owner who has absolutely no control over the price of gas. The only way to punish those responsible for these gas prices, the oil companies, is to use less gas. This is one very effective way of doing so. I love my scooter, and ride it anytime that it is dry and at least 28 degrees outside. I have severly slashed my fuel budget, even in a time of rising gas prices.

[Johonny]

16. well if all the station go under

then the oil companies are screwed too:)

[porphyrian]

17. Convenience stores make little or no money at all on gas.

The gas pumps are there solely to make you stop and get out of your car, thereby increasing the chances that you'll go in and buy their overpriced shit inside. They make their money on the 150% plus markups on snacks, not gas.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

18. Nothin Like Hurtin The Innocent To Get Back At The People Hurtin The Innocent.

Great circular logic ya got there...

[peace13]

19. Your use of the word 'Innocent' is interesting here.

If we have not contacted our Representatives, voted, and stood on the corners to speak out, in the last six years we are not innocent but rather complacent. We do not have that luxury anymore. First they came for the mini-marts!!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. Hogwash.

If you want to think that extremist line of reasoning, I can't stop you. But don't expect many to fall for that junk.

[NickB79]

21. I'd start by cutting out non-essential items in my life first

Like beer, candy, donuts, coffee and cigarettes. Hell, a pack of cigs here in MN costs more than a gallon of gas.

[uppityperson]

22. On your next trip to the gas station, walk. Buy junk food, not gas

Buy those cheap greasy jojos and candy. But walk there. And don't buy gas.

[undeterred]

25. I am unemployed and I just spent $45 to fill up the tank

I get 30 miles to the gallon, and the only place I go lately is to take the dog to the woods and do all my other errands on the way back- so I only go out once a day. Not working, the tank lasts a few weeks. But $45 is a lot of money for me now, and there are a lot of things I won't do this summer if it stays this high and I stay unemployed.

I don't blame the store owners. I worked in a gas station convenience store, and their margin is pretty thin. The owner was always having his sister report on what price everyone else in the neighborhood was selling at when he set his sign- it was totally dependent on competition. He made more money from the convenience store and service station than the gasoline.

[Xenotime]

26. You show them! Tell them you are a democrat too!

That will make us all proud.