Solution to high gas prices!

[ColbertWatcher]

Another DUer (mdmc) started a thread (here) asking what everyone thought of the gas tax "holiday".

I had another solution:

"...post the CEO's salary and retirement plan at every pump.
Along with his name and contact info."
--me

Then I went to Forbes to see what they made, to see if it was a shocking as I thought it would be:

Exxon-Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson makes $13.16 million

Chevron CEO David J. O'Reilly makes $34.61 million

ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva makes $6.61 million

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation CEO James T. Hackett makes $19.65 million

Occidental Petroleum CEO Ray R Irani makes $54.40 million

Sunoco CEO John G Drosdick makes $12.49 million
--Forbes page 1, Forbes page 2

I didn't include how much they have in stocks, but it's in there too.

So, what do you guys think of my idea?

What if there was some kind of law that made them put that info next to the pumps. Maybe include how much the company makes every year?

[Divernan]

1. Excellent idea - print this up on little calling cards & tape on the pump.

And if the minimum wage clerks at the local gas stations have any sense of where their best interests lie, they will leave the cards in place.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. UM, excuse me...

...but I'm not encouraging people to do anything illegal here.

I want people to contact their legislature and do it legally.

We can't have people running around posting this kind of stuff on private property.

[Divernan]

9. Yeah, well it would take a couple of years to get such legislation through any state legislature.

Ya gotta draft it, circulate for co-sponsors, get the legislation assigned to a committee - where the committee chairperson can refuse to call it up for consideration (so Big Oil only has to pay off one lousy legislator to bottle a bill up in committee); then the Committee has to schedule a meeting to hear discussion on the bill; then the Committee has to vote the bill out of Committee, then it goes back to leadership, which has to schedule it for the full chamber (either House or Senate); then IF the bill passes the first chamber, you have to go through the whole rigamarole with the OTHER chamber, ie from House to Senate or from Senate to House - then it goes to the Governor to be signed or vetoed. Thewhole process is further delayed by the summer recess, and the fact that half of the legislators are desperately running for their own re-elections. (I know wherof I write, because I was Executive Director of various state legislature committees for 10 years.)

Of course by now, it's 2009.

I just like the idea of spreading this information around to motivate voters to get damned angry at Big Oil, and by association, at the GOP and McCain, and vote Dem in November. Unobtrusively slap those stickers on the oil pumps - there's no sign on them telling you not to, is there?

[ColbertWatcher]

11. !

I hope you're not encouraging people to do something like that because it would be wrong.

Telling people to slap stickers on stuff, like the picture below:



would be wrong.

And I would never ask anyone to do something like that.

[datasuspect]

3. put them on avery shipping labels and print on laserjet printers

the self-adhesive backing makes application a cinch.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. Like this?

That wouldn't be right.

We cannot encourage that kind of behavior.

My suggestion was to have someone legally apply notices on every gas pump reminding consumers who the CEO of the corporation is, how much money he is making and perhaps adding how much the corporation made that year (like conscious evolution) suggested below.

I would never ask people to do anything illegal like posting it themselves.

That would be wrong.

[MNDemNY]

38. Print them on "static" stickers...no damage, no crime.

[gObama08]

47. I like the idea of the stickers on the tank

Kind of like shopdropping? where you alter a label and leave it in a store. i like that you're not stealing or harming anything. No crime= no problem!

[conscious evolution]

4. I like

I like it a lot.
I would add the profit each company made last year.

[taterguy]

5. Wouldn't change anything

People only drive when it's absolutely positively necessary, or at least that's what I hear whenever someone on this site is dumb enough to suggest that people drive too much.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. All I am suggesting is...

...to remind people how much money is being made from gas and oil.

People have to drive, but they don't have to be passive when it comes to contacting their legislators.

[KharmaTrain]

14. And Legistlators Are Gonna Really Care??

Yep...they sure like to bitch about the high prices, but nothing is being done to hit the root cause for this price-run up and the destruction of the dollar...that's the endless fleecing of the US treasury by this regime for its corporate welfare projects and war for profit. Keep funding this misdaventure and the price of oil will remain through the roof...keep borrowing and the dollar will continue to fall in value. Wanna turn things around? Stop this regime from spending like drunken sailors.

If there's a holiday we should demand, it's that elected representatives take a pay cut for their poor performance. If your company was losing money would you reward those in charge of the budget and spending?

Also...if you want to embarass these oil titans...email and phone calls won't do shit. These dudes are insulated from the public. Instead a video camera could be in order...video these guys at their drinkie drinkie parties, golf courses and other places inside their cocooon...and show the investors and public where this money is going.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. It has to start with how much money they're getting. IMHO. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

16. Oil Execs?

I don't think you need to convince people that the CEO of Exxon is making a king's ransom. In some cases, others are making money as well...and in some cases it's pensioners and others who have their savings tied to oil stocks. It's their stocks that are probably keeping them from having to eat dog food.

Again...I think it's time to evaluate what we're getting for the money we're sending to the Beltway. If the government can't meet the bills, then those who are responsible for that shortfall should have to bite the bullet. How much ya wanna bet mountains move a lot faster if congresscritters felt a little pain with the rest of us.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. I think you underestimate...

...what people would do if they are reminded that the 150 dollars they are bleeding into their gas tank is going to pay one guy 4,000,000.00 dollars.

If you want to influence the congresscritters, you need the people to put pressure on them.

The more people the better.

Start somewhere.

[KharmaTrain]

22. If They're Spending That Money And Not Feeling It...

then that says something right there. Hell, I loathe spending $45 to fill my tank...and I've cut back on a lot of my traveling. But I know many others who will bitch and still keep filling cause "they have to". In my area, it's somewhat understandable, cause here in Pleasant Valley Sunday, nothing is within walking distance and there's almost no public transportation...all people see here are the high prices and blame anyone and everyone.

The problem isn't people getting angry at oil companies...they already are...and the oil companies could care less. Shame 'em? Rich people can buy their way away from shame...surround themselves with toadies...and what good will that do?

The pressure should be on our congresscritters who, again, approve the massive spending this regime does that drives the dollar's value down and thus has helped to soar oil prices. Cut the funding for much of this regime's corporate welfare games...fund only the withdrawl of troops from Iraq, raise taxes on those earning over $100k a year and cut out the billions being thrown at defesne contractors and mercenaries...and let's see where the dollar and price of oil go. Or force his assholines to veto and shut this government down. The oil companies won't do this...but your congresscritter can and must.

[ColbertWatcher]

27. I think #25 is the answer. n/t

[Johnny Blaze]

8. hmmm ..............

I think you could type up that info on sheets of paper, tuck these into glass bottles and chuck the bottles at peoples' foreheads. It's not going to make a bit of difference. The acronym CEO is synonymous with outrageous salaries and bonuses. It's common knowledge. What else is new?

The truth is, the average citizen is going to keep paying whatever price is on the pump until he or she has to make a major change - be it the car driven or the employer and the miles commuted.

What can be legally done is to inform gas station owners that you will purchase their ridiculously expensive fuel, but only on the condition that they lower prices on other goods and or services.

Somewhat inexpensive fuel caused lines at the pump and droves of customers walking into the store for somewhat expensive goods - coffee, softdrinks, cigarettes, automotive supplies, etc.

Reverse the situation.

Entice cutstomers into the store for ridiculously inexpensive goods to offset the cost of ridiculously expensive fuel.

Bring back the spirit of price wars that kept stations competative and guaranteed a bargain to the customers.

The lack of that competitive spirit is one of the reasons why we have the prices we now have.

But, CEOs have been making a killing since the dawn of Corporate America, even when we were satisfied with prices at the pump.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. I think it would have an effect.

You think too little of people.

Everyone knows CEOs make a lot of money, but that's in the back of their minds. You have no idea how people will react with the fact they are paying one guy at least 4 million dollars every year.

And it's because of gas being at $4.00.

Don't under estimate people.

[Johnny Blaze]

12. .............?

Most average citizens react by continuing to work for CEOs, despite knowing the outrageous salaries and bonuses.

Keep in mind, it's the corporations that "overpay" CEOs for what they actually contribute.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. But, that's a job.

Working for McDonald's is light years away from mindlessly paying ever-increasing gas prices.

If people wrote their legislators, they could demand hearings into why refineries are at 85% capacity, yet prices are continuing to rise.

Not to mention why we invaded a country that is rich in oil, yet we're not benefitting from it.

Many things can come from one little step, grasshopper.

[Johnny Blaze]

17. It'll never work

They could already be demanding these things, but most people are not.

Why?

Because they aren't frustrated enough, haven't reached the breaking point yet.

Your idea is just to cause people to dwell further on the situation than they already care to, become angrier than they already are and react out of disgust.

If such was a proven effective method of yielding change, then Bush would have never made it to a 2nd term.

But, he did despite the overwhelming disgust voiced regarding his actions and policies during his 1st term.

[ColbertWatcher]

23. I doubt Dubya would have gotten a second term...

...if there was a daily reminder of his incompetence.

I bet no one who was on a New Orleans rooftop is going to have to be reminded not to vote for republicans.

Start somewhere.

[Johnny Blaze]

24. * shakes head *

I doubt Dubya would have gotten a second term...
...if there was a daily reminder of his incompetence.





Have you been living under a rock?

[ColbertWatcher]

26. I haven't, but 28% (or more) have.

I don't live in a vacuum, and I don't suspect you do either.

[uberllama42]

46. Station owners aren't the ones making all the profits

Most station owners are contractually obligated to pay whatever a particular oil company charges them for gasoline. Their margins on gas are very small- they charge a few cents more than they pay. They make most of their money on the smokes and junk food they sell in their little convenience stores. There really isn't any room to lower the prices in the stores.

[Clear Blue Sky]

19. Good idea but,

what happens if you pull up to a pump and see that the CEO makes a gazillion $$? Drive (and waste gas) going to another station only to find that their CEO makes even more?

[ColbertWatcher]

21. That would be impractical...

...if it is too far for someone to drive to the next gas station, perhaps they would be encouraged to write their government officials, so they wouldn't get so pissed at the pump!

See, we've been paying high prices for gas since the oilman got into the White House.

But, we did nothing about it.

When gas was below $2.00 after it slipped over $2.00, then $3.00, and even now as it flirts with $4.00. People are angry, but we do nothing about it.

We want to blame someone.

McCain suggests we remove the taxes from the price.

If there was a daily reminder that the taxes on gas are not the problem, people would rethink McCain's proposal.

[mdmc]

20. recommend

for my shout out:)

[fed-up]

25. 1/4 page flyers with exec salaries AND phone # of their reps in COngress/Senate

these can be handed out anytime a person goes to the gas station or anywhere else
cost is cheap at about 2 cents a piece

Do NOT leave them in a stack at the pump as that may be considered littering

Do NOT tape them to the pump as that may be defacing property

they can be posted at your local community message board (if rules permit it)


Carry the handbills with you where ever you go-pass stacks out to your friends to pass to their friends to pass out to the public at any public gathering

it is spring and will soon be summer, there are a number of places one can go to distribute flyers
when you are grocery shopping, at the movies, at a concert in the park, at your earth day festivals, at the company picnic, at the park
anywhere people are gathering


FED-UP with HIGH GAS PRIÇES?

Exxon-Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson makes $13.16 million

Chevron CEO David J. O'Reilly makes $34.61 million

ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva makes $6.61 million

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation CEO James T. Hackett makes $19.65 million

Occidental Petroleum CEO Ray R Irani makes $54.40 million

Sunoco CEO John G Drosdick makes $12.49 million

CALL YOUR REP
Joe Blow-xxx-xxx-xxxx
Josephine Blow xxx-xxx-xxxx



maybe someone here can design a nice flyer to print out

then people can add their local reps phone numbers before making additional copies

edited to change title on handbill...

[ColbertWatcher]

28. This is a very good idea...

...thank you for posting!

Of course, I would never recommend people place stickers directly on the pump, because, as you said, that's defacing property.

[fed-up]

32. for any action to work it has to state problem/solution-most people don't know contact info for reps

making a simple statement with a simple solution is about all people have time for these days


if people have energy and time they can also make a larger version and stand on the corner near the gas station
they can also call their local media and let them know when/where they will be protesting these insane prices

a child's art easel works great to tape a large poster with the info on it


but once again asking people to do something drops like a lead balloon
check out the number of views and response to my separate thread...

many people will bitch to each other about the deplorable state of things, but are not willing to take a little time to contact the people (legislators) that can make a change

[KharmaTrain]

29. Put It Over The Obnoxious Video Monitors

Damn those things are irritating. I start the pump and hide in my car these days so I don't have to hear yet another moronic commercial.

That's a very good suggestion...may I also suggest you explain that this regime and repugnicans have fleeced the treasury...forcing the dollar to plummet and that's what's been a major cause to the price rise. If they want to see this shit continue, then vote for Gramp and his GOOP enablers...want to see real change? Elect Progressive Democrats!

Cheers...

[ColbertWatcher]

30. I think it is important that people understand...

...that cutting the tax on gas does nothing but cut funds for their own roads.

If they can see what the CEOs are getting, and if they can see what their taxes provide, maybe they will put 2 and 2 together and realize that a "holiday" from the gas tax doesn't change the cost of gas, it only takes much needed funding away from infrastructure.

[KharmaTrain]

36. And More Bridges Will Fall

The myth of the "gas holiday" is what happens on the other end. Prices will continue to rise...so the 18 cent "dividend" will be short-lived...and then when the "holiday" ends, the prices the prices will be higher than ever. Pay me now, pay me later.

In the meatime, thousands of construction jobs that rely on money from the gas tax will be lost...so will needed maintenance to the infrastructure. May a picture of the I-35 bridge would be a "subtle" reminder of what this would mean.

I really like your idea...but I think most people realize the oil titans make money...but, again, that's the effect, not the cause. It's the falling dollar that has driven oil and other prices up...caused by a Repugnican regime that spent this country into this mess...and is spending billions each day for a war for profit. The change is needed in Washington...the oil execs are just reaping the profits of the toadies they installed.

As far as CEO compensation, I see the Rockefeller family has made quite a noise about exec salaries and corporate excesses at the current board meeting. The ultimate answer to this imbalance is from the stockholders themselves...and there are millions of little stockholders out there...who read and vote on the proxies they get and unite to make their companies more accountable.

Again...I like the idea, just throwing out some thoughts and ideas...

Cheers...

[melm00se]

31. if you stripped

these 5 CEO's of the compensation numbers listed above and applied it to the total amount of gasoline purchased in the USA, you would see a $0.00099 impact per gallon.

the amount of gasoline used in the USA is staggering: 141 billion gallons per year.

[ColbertWatcher]

33. Wow. Nicely done. n/t

[fed-up]

34. can you figure out how much profit shareholders are making? per gallon? nt

[melm00se]

42. no

not easily done as 100% of, say Exxon's, profit is not derived from gasoline but from a cross section of petroleum products.

What I can tell you is that while the raw numbers for Exxon (and if you really want an eye opener add up the total revenues and profits of Exxon, Chevron, Conoco, Anadarko, occidental, shell, total, hess, marathon and BP: rev: $1.738 trillion and total profits: $162.3 billion) are staggering the average profit margin for these companies is a 9.3%. this profit margin and subsequent return on investment is not that large compared to many other companies.

For example, if you look at some of the companies included in the large cap Blue Fund (http://www.bluefund.com/the-funds/large-cap-fund-description/top-holdings), if you scaled:

Adobe Systems Incorporated
Apple Computer, Inc
Coach, Inc.
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Danaher Corporation
Qualcomm
Stryker Corporation

to the same revenue levels of, say, Exxon, and applied their profit margins, you would see something like this:

Adobe Systems Incorporated: 23% (scales to $93 billion)
Apple Computer, Inc: 14.5% ($59 billion)
Coach, Inc.: 25% ($101 billion)
Colgate-Palmolive Company: 11% ($44.4 billion)
Danaher Corporation: 11.7% ($47 billion)
Qualcomm: 37% ($149 billion)
Stryker Corporation: 14.4% ($58 billion)

the numbers are huge, but when compared to the revenue levels, not obscenely so regardless of what anti-corporate activists would have you believe.

[Miss Carly]

35. Great Idea! Go for it!

If I made 13 million, I would definitely have enough money in my pocket to buy gas and groceries without budgeting, for once.

[ColbertWatcher]

37. TO HELP MAKE FLYERS...

...please go to this thread

[fed-up]

39. thanks-I love your posting name- Jon/Colbert have saved what's left of my sanity nt

[ColbertWatcher]

40. You're welcome.

I'm watching the Senate "discuss" drilling in ANWR as a "solution" to high gas prices.

Bastards.

[iamthebandfanman]

41. nationalize NOW! n/t

[melm00se]

43. what a naive

and short sighted knee jerk reaction: Nationalize NOW!

tell me, have you read the 5th amendment? the salient part is “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

looking at the above companies, the "just compensation" would be close to the market value of the 5 companies listed above, which as of this morning, equals just shy of a $900 billion (with Exxon leading the way at $475 billion)

Now before you start on the "corporations shouldn't have the rights of people" (something which has it's place) remember that ultimately these companies, after you drill down all the way, are owned by individuals either thru direct stock shares owned, shares owned in mutual funds, participation in pensions (or other retirement vehicles) that own shares so the "private property" component is in play and I can guarantee you that the confiscatory powers of the government would come under immediate scrutiny of the courts (you know the part of the 1st Amendment: "...and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."?).

nationalization is a dangerous path that I can honestly say is a line that should not be crossed without significant and deep consideration and contemplation.

sorry, I don't mean to insult you but the "nationalize now" cry is a pet peeve of mine...

[iamthebandfanman]

44. so weve decided to pay attention to the constitution?

im so glad and how convenient when it serves corporate interest.

sure would be nice if we listened to it when it dealt with everyday people and their rights and liberties.


im sorry, but something that supports the entire economic infrastructure of a country shouldnt be in the hands of private stockholders or any private entity.


with nationalization you get lower prices, greater resources for alternative energy(all those profits can go into research cause hey, the government doesnt need to make a profit), and GUARANTEED JOBS that will never go away....

[ColbertWatcher]

45. Silly corporate apologist...

...just because one says "nationalize" doesn't mean what you imply: that corporations won't be compensated.

Of course they will, and I suggest the compensation be similar to how the American people are compensated by mining companies for use of our land.

[mikeytherat]

48. You are soooooo last week. Gas prices have peaked for 2008. Seriously.

The Internets tell me so:

Oil futures surged to a new record over $120 a barrel Monday as supply threats emerged overseas and the dollar weakened against the euro. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, fell more than a cent over the weekend, offering further evidence that prices may have peaked for the year.

http://finance.comcast.net/www/news.html?x=http://absorigins.comcast.net/data/news/2008/05/05/954324.xml

Don't you get it? Do I have to spell it out for you? Even though crude prices keep setting new records and the dollar keeps sliding against the euro, gas prices dropped by one penny over the weekend, "offering further evidence that prices may have peaked for the year."

And yes, if you're being picky, this other "evidence that prices may have peaked for the year" is not mentioned anywhere in the article, but I'm sure it exists. Somewhere. Other than the author's head.

:crazy:

mikey_the_rat