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Re: Gas Boycott
Posted by David Prantl (more from David Prantl) on Mon, 20 Mar 2000 21:50:45
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

Here's my take on this whole gas situation.  It's pretty long, so don't 
waste your time reading on if you're not interested.  There's no SAAB 
content - sorry.

The US has experienced many consecutive years of economic expansion, which 
means that overall, everyone has become wealthier.

Gas prices and taxes have not changed significantly in this period.

So, consumption of gas has been steadily increasing.  Not the most 
forward-looking and prudent trend for the US consumers to be making, but 
they've made it nonetheless.
While other countries are taxing gas much more heavily to stop consumption 
increases, the US guzzles more and more.  It should be a question of taxing 
to control consumption, rather than taxing to generate revenue.

Pretty soon, everyone who can get enough credit to lease an SUV will be 
driving one, and the most desirable SUV of all will be the size of a 
motorhome - with that legendary off-road capability we all need so badly of 
course.  We'll all be getting 15MPG or less, while the rest of the 
industrialized world is going towards 50MPG.

Everyone with any economic knowledge understands that when demand and 
consumption increases, given a fixed supply, the price will increase.  OPEC 
has been increasing supply to meet the growing demand in the past, so that 
prices would not get out of hand.  They realize that they can't keep on 
pumping out more oil every year at the rate they have been, 'cause, guess 
what, it's going to run out.  Probably in our lifetime.

Since gas IS a non-renewable resource, it is logical that supply cannot grow 
indefinitely.  Ironically, this is exactly what we want OPEC to do:  Pump 
out more every year to keep prices in line.

Unfortunately for us, OPEC are not a bunch of short-sighted fools, and will 
resist pressures to sell their oil faster for less (or same) $$ as much as 
they can.  Wouldn't you ?

Here's what we can do:

Not buy any gas at the pump for a few days.  If we continue to drive the 
same vehicles the same way, our consumption level will stay exactly the 
same.  We'll all tank up before the 'gas-out', and again after it, and 
accomplish absolutely nothing.

Cancel the gas tax, and be happy until prices reach some arbitrary level 
which makes us start to complain again (say $2/gallon?).  It will happen, 
and pretty soon after the tax is gone.

Mr. Bush keeps promising to strengthen the military.  Let's give them 
something to do.  How about we colonize the middle-east and a few other 
major oil producing countries, and pump oil to our heart's content, until it 
stops coming out 20 years from now.  DOH !  By the way, if OPEC does cave in 
to US pressure and continue to increase production, you can be pretty 
confident that it's because they are afraid of the abovementioned scenario 
becoming reality.

If we want democracy and free-market economics, we'll just have to suck it 
up and spend more of our income dollars on gas, or consume less of it, by 
driving fewer miles or by driving more efficient vehicles.  This is the only 
solution that makes any sense to me.


Best regards,

David Prantl
david_prantlno39sdcx6spamx782hotmail.com
'84 900S, 5-spd, 210kMi, RIP
'86 9000T, 5-spd, 176kMi
'88 9000S, 5-spd, 137kMi
'90 9000S, auto, 133kMi
'89 900, auto, 115kMi
'68 97 Sonett V4, 76kMi, #000467

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