Make my day. Kick a multinational in the head
Cats: slack woman|Go here for my Herald column on this.
Think about this: In the first quarter of this year, ExxonMobil made a $10.8 billion profit. And investors were disappointed. It wasn’t enough. $10.8billion in three months wasn’t enough profit.
Now think about this: skyrocketing gas prices, spiraling grocery costs, food panics all over the world.
Do you see what I mean by wanting to kick a multinational in the head?
Against a super-major like Exxon we are mere peons, but if all the peons get together they can hit Big Oil where it hurts. In the bottom line.
I like to think of it as ripping off a multinational. Legally.
If you have to run a car in town, try this: Ease down on the gas when you start from go. Don’t dart out. You’ll be a few seconds slower reaching speed, but you can save 30 percent on your gas bill. No kidding.
I started this awhile ago and I’m paying less for gas than I did when prices were lower.
So go on: make my day. Rip off a multinational and then buy yourself a drink with the proceeds.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Unfortunately, I think they would just raise their prices even more to compensate for their earnings shortfall. No matter how much we conserve, all goods are shipped with trucks that use diesel fuel and both the truckers and retailers have to eventually pass those costs on.
I say we should create an amnesty program where if someone successfuly robs an oil exec or hacks their accounts (without hurting them, of course), they could get probation if they share the money with every non-oil company person. Robin Hooding at its best.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Did you hear the oil company analyst on CBC the other day, explaining the convoluted formula used to justify increasing gasoline pump prices while Big Oil is raking in record profits. It’s a different department, apparently. And that makes everything so much better.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
But going from zero to sixty in six is one of my few pleasures left …
May 9th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
WP, the idea is that if everyone did this and reduced the demand for gas by 30 percent, that would drive down the price and the value of the shares of the multinats. But I love the sound of your program.
Barbara, yes, I did hear that on As It Happens. Babblespeak, I thought.
Beth, it is one of the pleasures and perhaps every now and then I would like to do that, but day to day, driving in the city with traffic, you can’t, so you may as well, save yourself the money
May 12th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
One suggestion that I heard was to not buy fuel from the ‘giants’ for a while, and they will lower their prices to win back customers. This will cause everybody to lower their prices.