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April 26, 2006
Confused Americans for Truth - Texas Judge in Oily Scheme
I tell you, I try to be understanding, but this obsession with punishment over progress is just beyond irresponsible. The latest is a boycott of Exxon/Mobil, to commence immediately and to continue until they drop their pump price to $1.30. This is not the first time I've heard of such a scheme, though this is the first time I've read about it in the news. Usually it comes in as chain-letter EMAIL spam.
The beauty of such a scheme is that no one is going to pay attention, so you don't have to worry about the possibility of the thing blowing up in your face. That's a serious concern, because if people actually decided to buy gas from, say, British Petroleum instead of Exxon/Mobil, the price at the BP pumps will rise, and Exxon/Mobil, which can't possibly make a profit at $1.30 a gallon, will end up being gobbled up by a competitor.
The county judge who came up with this idea is quoted in the article.
Hey, the American people are tired. What we did is we simply took action instead of complaining. We're offering our residents a beacon of hope.
The problem is, the hope being offered is not the prospect of lower gas prices, but revenge on Exxon for giving its departing CEO a $400 million retirement package. The cost of the package is nothing compared to Exxon's profits, or even the taxes it pays.
Consider this: for each of its 85,000+ employees, Exxon Mobil is paying $271,269 in corporate income tax. That's not excise taxes, it's not fuel taxes, it's corporate income taxes. When people complain about how little they make compared to executives, it's worth noting that you could get a pretty sizable raise just from what the IRS is gouging off the top.
These large compensation packages are a result of the fact that there are not all that many people who even know how to manage an organization of 85,000 people, much less navigate the labyrinth of regulations put in place by a Congress that wants the energy industry to conform itself to the wishes of the Sierra Club.
But the point remains: when you want to do "something", it should be something positive. Increasing the misery is not positive, it's stupid. We don't need stupid right now.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
# At Wed 10:46 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (3) | More Confused Americans for Truth
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So, relax. This assinine boycott will die like the last 1,263 gas boycotts... not with a bang but a whimper.
BTW, great anti-spammer code in "opsawzn". Been a while since I used that word. Good to have another near rhyme with sarcasm.
Posted by: David at April 27, 2006 8:16 AM
Posted by: Josh Cohen at April 27, 2006 3:56 PM
The lefties are saying boycott Exxon, and BUYcott Citgo:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm
Why Citgo? Because every dime in profit goes to Hugo Chavez so he can continue to oppress the democratic opposition in Venezuela and bring about the much heralded Marxist Maranatha.
Interesting that Chavez is also planning to build a natural gas pipeline that cuts right through the rain forest:
So, lefty dollars going to the Castro of South America as he rapes the rain forest and destroys democracy in Venezuela.
A liberal wet dream.
Posted by: Mike ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.conservativecat.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 28, 2006 10:39 PM
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