Bee County Board Urges Boycott of Exxon Mobil Gasoline Stations

Their goal of a $1.30/gal. for gasoline will require the NYMEX price of oil to drop to $20/bbl. Now I wouldn't be surprised that during the next four years the price of oil drops to $20/bbl. due to the cyclical nature of the oil industry(it was down to $10/bbl. as recently as the late 1990s), but I doubt it will happen this year. The idea that boycotting Exxon Mobil, or any other oil company, will cause the price of gasoline to drop has been well refuted:

www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

But, hey, if it makes some folks feel good(even though the effort will be ineffective) they are welcomed to give it a try. I imagine that the other oil companies will appreciate the extra business.

"Some in Texas Town Won't Back Fuel Boycott

Sunday April 30, 9:08 pm ET

By Lynn Brezosky, Associated Press Writer

Texas Town's Planned Boycott of Exxon Mobil Draws Support but Some Doubts

BEEVILLE, Texas (AP) -- High gas prices are unquestionably painful in this small South Texas town that is at least an hour's drive from malls and specialized medical care, but some residents are doubting the wisdom of the county board's call for a boycott of Exxon Mobil Corp.

Opponents of the boycott that starts Monday note that oil and gas taxes fund much of Bee County's budget, and they say a boycott could end up harming mom-and-pop gas stations whose main profits are not from oil.

The boycott against the world's largest oil company will continue until gas is down to $1.30 a gallon, said County Judge Jimmy Martinez, the county's highest elected official. A gallon of regular unleaded cost $2.92 on average around the nation and $2.80 in the Corpus Christi region Sunday, according to AAA."

- rest at LINK

By the way, I was born and reared in Sinton, thirty miles south of Beeville.

 

The idea should still be pooh-poohed as it makes about as much sense as going after Godzilla with a water pistol.

Still, if it makes some folks feel better by buying their gasoline from another oil company than Exxon Mobil, then I say "Go for it". It won't lower the price of gasoline and may even raise it since that in essence takes a competitor out of the marketplace in that locality. But in today's America the desire to feel good has largely replaced addressing situations with logic and common sense.