But they make so much sense

Isn't it about time for another of those half-baked schemes to lower gas prices?


Social networking certainly has its disadvantages.


Indeed. Right around the time that gas prices start getting into the $3.50/gallon range, the internets start erupting with various people forwarding me emails and posting crap on their Facebook pages inciting a form of passive protest against the high gas prices. They involve stunningly easy methods of boycotts in order to "bring the oil companies to their knees." Every last one of them includes that phrase, by the way. None of them involve any sort of change on the consumer's part, of course, and none of them...you know...work.

So, let's see...there's the "Boycott Gas Station X and only buy gas from Gas Station Y" which will in turn cause Station X to lose business and drop their prices to gain the customers back. This half-baked scheme seems to forget the fact that gasoline is a commodity and is the same no matter where you get it. So if everyone goes to Station Y, their supply will run out, and they'll just buy their gas from Station X.

There's the "Only buy $10 of gas at a time" bit wherein the gas stations will be left with a glut of gas and not need to purchase more, forcing supply to shoot up and prices to come down. It should seem obvious (but doesn't for some odd reason) that this will cause everyone to buy gas about 5x as often, increasing the number of cars at the gas station, leaving the demand exactly where it is.

You can always go with the ubiquitous "Let's petition the President to do something" approach with often involves some form of online petition that you click to sign. A minimum of effort, to be certain, but also a minimum of effect. The numbers don't change. The tax on gas will be the same amount whether it's $2 a gallon or $4. There's simply not a lot any president can do to influence gas prices.

There's also my personal favorite. The classic "Don't buy gas this Friday" which will cause a multi-million dollar profit loss for all of the oil companies and force them to lower prices. Again, stunningly easy, but also stunningly easy to see through. Most people tend to not buy gas every single day. Those who would normally buy gas on a given Friday don't have their gas needs go away...so even if they boycott on Friday, they'll still buy their gas on Saturday, along with the normal Saturday crowd. So while demand would go down on Friday, it would increase for Saturday, and we return to the norm within 24 hours.

I could go on a speech here about how hair-brained schemes like this never work and will never work, so stop spouting on about them in my email...but there's a problem. I haven't gotten any. I'm confused. People aren't smart enough to realize that these things are pointless, are they? Why has the deluge of this moronic crap stopped? Or am I just getting a little ahead of myself, and National Gas-Out Day 2011 is coming next week?