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AKA: The Price of Eggs
Be sure to check out my End Notes/Commentary.
The Price of Eggs
This is the first time I've seen "The Price of Eggs" item. However, it should be noted that it's just another type of "big oil boycott".
I am a former Texaco retailer and this will work. I have been telling people to quit storing gasoline for these companies. Bob T. [So why didn't you give your FULL name? -LE]
The Price of Eggs
This makes a lot of sense~ read to the end!!!
Fried Eggs
A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays .60 cents a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozens at a time.
One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72 cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are .76 cents a dozen. When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "the price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly."
This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. I checked around for a better price and all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business.
The huge egg farms sells 100,000 dozen eggs a day to distributors. With no competition, they can set the price as they see fit. The distributors then have to raise their prices to the grocery stores. And on and on and on. As the man kept buying eggs the price kept going up. He saw the big egg trucks delivering 100 dozen eggs each day. Nothing changed there.
He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.
Then a week before Thanksgiving the price of eggs shot up to $1.00 a dozen. Again he asked the grocery owner why and was told, "cakes and baking for the holiday." The huge egg farmers know there will be a lot of baking going on and more eggs will be used. Hence, the price of eggs goes up. Expect the same thing at Christmas and other times when family cooking, baking, etc. happen."
This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says, "there must be something we can do about the price of eggs."
He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs. Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need.
He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.
The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week.
The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs and would not need any for at least two weeks.
At the egg farm, the chickens just kept on laying eggs.
To relieve the pressure, the huge egg farm told the distributor that they could buy the eggs at a lower price. The distributor said, " I don't have the room for the eggs even if they were free."
The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again. The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buying 2 or 3 eggs at a time. Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again."
The distributors sent that proposal to the huge egg farmers. They liked the price they were getting for their eggs but, them chickens just kept on laying.
Finally, the egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few cents. The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, "when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."
Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers.
The egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for.
Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while.
And them chickens kept on laying.
Eventually, the egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell. The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.
And the customers starting buying by the dozen again.
Gas Sign
Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.
What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump. The dealers tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms.
The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the Middle East.
Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but, the price should come down.
Think about it.
As an added note ... When I buy $10.00 worth of gas,that leaves my tank a little under half full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.65 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.15. If you have your tank full of $2.65 gas you don't have room for the $2.15 gas. You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff. [Meaning if it's $2.15 the next morning, and you only have a half-full tank, you have room to buy it at $2.15, but if you had FILLED it with the $2.65 gas ... ]
Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station, don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down..
**_Everyone should read this and send it on! _**
Status: EXTREMELY DOUBTFUL
Source(s):
- Buying Eggs v. Buying Gas - BreakTheChain.org
- WEBCommentary(tm) - Gas Price Nonsense
- Carolina Journal Online - Eggs Mark the Spotty Economics
- (see links in end-notes, below)
Comment(s):
From some Discussion Forums:
At About Gas Prices. - Topic Powered by eve community, one forum poster pointed out:
Sooooo the Egg Farm culled off the excess chickens to ensure the prices remained inflated and made MORE profit from a new revenue stream of supplying KFC.
The man had to suppliment his restricted daily diet of two eggs by buying KFC for dinner.
The distributor was happy as his cool room was able to accomodate the alternate produce.
The grocery store owner wasnt very happy as he wasnt selling many eggs - he went out of business but still buys eggs and KFC.
So now we have another customer buying our produce and one less small grocery store to worry about.
Now we can focus on the huge food chains and bump the price of eggs and chicken up as all the small grocery stores are out of business.
At The Price of eggs - New Mexico Gas Prices, a poster points out:
... you expect your egg dealer to stock individual eggs? If peole were demanding individual egg sales, your local grocery store would have a sign like this:
Eggs! $.80/dozen or Individually Wrapped for $.20/each.
Can you do math?
Further, the store is still selling, on average, 14 eggs to this guy every week. That's not going to change. If EVERYBODY in town agreed to this boycott, the grocer would still be selling, on average, 14 eggs/person/week. That doesn't change. He's still demanding 14 eggs/person/week from the suppliers. That doesn't change. There's going to be a little supply bubble at the end of the chain during the first week and then it's business as usual (except for the increase in price due to individually wrapped egg costs).
Now, every time I see some dim bulb post something like this, I see that they've overlooked the truly simple and obvious solution. Here is is:
EAT FEWER EGGS!
By the way, I have a life. Even if I was stupid enough to believe this would "work," I'm not going to waste time going to the gas station every day and neither is almost anybody else. Enjoy your "boycott."
And another:
No. It wouldn't even work for eggs. If you go to the grocery store every day and buy two eggs instead of going every six days to buy a dozen, do you really think you'd spend less overall for eggs? If so, you have obviously never looked at unit pricing for any item in a grocery store. Just because someone makes up numbers for a fictional story doesn't mean it reflects the real world. If it did, I'd write a story where the eggs and gas were both free and I made a million dollars a year.
More discussion:
***
As stated a number of times, problems with the theory (eggs vs gas) are:
You are still buying the same amount of eggs/gas. The difference is that you are making more trips to buy that same amount. Even if it's "on the way" you still have the turning the engine off/on, stopping/starting, time elements to include in the purchases.
The "Added Note" is discussed later.
HOWEVER, the "ALSO" note needs a rethink.
While the gas and oil products in the convenience stores associated with gas-stations are probably all from the gas company, the other items are for your convenience and probably by the owners of the stations themselves. In many cases, the convenience items are they only "profit" they will earn without having to share with the oil companies.
We lament the fact that "mom-and-pop" stores and service stations no longer exist. The problem is that they could not (and cannot) compete with the pricing of the "mega-stores" and their volume purchasing capabilities.
For example: My father had a grocery store. While he could purchase a case or two of canned corn from his wholesaler, Kroger could purchase PALLETS of the stuff, giving them a volume discount. The "profit margins" on both may have been the same (just a few pennies), but Kroger could sell it for less, because of that discount. Therefore, my father's store couldn't compete, and went out of business in Lafayette.
If you want to see the convenience side of these gas stations go away, do what the "ALSO" note said. Many of the "smaller" stations are "franchises," owned by MUCH more local people than others. If we put them out of business, then the oil companies may still want a presence in our areas, and keep the station open (without the local owners), meaning the oil companies make the profits, not the local.
If you're not sure if your convenience store is owned by a local or by the oil company, check; or keep buying the convenience items you normally would. Otherwise ...
End Notes
Gas Boycotts
Boycotting the oil companies, no matter how it's worded, will not work, unless and until EVERYONE around the world does it, and does it at the same time. If the oil companies are not selling gas to our local stations, they will just sell it elsewhere in the US. And, if they can't sell it to stations in the US, they will just sell it elsewhere in the world. (China's gas-use is going up by leaps and bounds.)
AND, while it's nice to think that we may have this much control over the price of gas, we don't. It's been tried (or mentioned) numerous times (Single-Day Gas Out, Boycott Citgo, Boycott the Large Oil Companies #1, Boycott Large Oil Companies #2, and other gasoline-buying related actions. - click on each to see what Snopes has to say about them), the only people they are hurting/would hurt are the mom-and-pops and local stations, not the "big oil" companies.
Egg/Gas Analogy
The egg/gas analogy doesn't work, either. Yep ... " them chickens kept on laying." But if they can't sell it, oil companies can always shut down wells until the demand is up again. You can't turn a chicken off without killing it. As one poster, above, pointed out, the egg producers could simply sell off the chickens they don't need for egg production to a different type of supplier. Then, when demand goes back up, they don't have the chickens in reserve to meet that demand, and the prices go/stay up to slow sales.
Commentary
The American Consumer dislikes being inconvenienced. That's why all these "boycott" ideas say to fill up and don't buy gas on specific days. Otherwise, it would be "inconvenient".
Commuting has become a way of life for many. Not to mention all of the salesmen who still have to "run routes," go door-to-door, business-to-business, etc. just to make ends meet. Gas consumption is NOT going to decrease for those that HAVE to drive for their jobs. Soon, delivery companies are going to have to increase their shipping charges (again) because the cost of gas is still rising. Postage stamps will be going up again; soon I'm sure, for the same reason.
Many people tout "just use less gas" - buy fuel-efficient cars, etc. There are MAJOR problems with those theories, too.
"Don't Drive SUVs/Minivans"
Personally, I drive a mini-van. I HAVE to drive an SUV or mini-van. I'm extremely tall (6'-9") and overweight (admittedly - but that's not the problem, here.) I'm disabled, because I have had surgeries on my feet where toes have been removed, which wasn't too much of a problem with my balance until I fell and tore the quad-tendon from my knee-cap. After surgery, a fixator to hold it in place (STRAIGHT for six weeks, then allowing 30 degrees for another 6 weeks - thank God I had a mini-van, people who could drive me to appointments, and I could ride in the back seat!), and therapy to learn to walk more normally again, I can still only bend that knee about 90 degrees. This might not be a problem for smaller people, but when you are my size, have legs as long as I do, feet (still) as large as I do (size 18s, originally), and can't bend a knee enough to get it in car doors, you find what works.
Before I even HAD the knee problem I had to "try on cars" to find the ones in which I would fit. Again, most of the time, being overweight was not the problem, but where my KNEES were, how the dashboard was shaped, how the seats worked (reclining?), steering column (movable?), etc. WERE. While certain types of large gas-guzzling cars would have fit, I also had to be able to accommodate two growing boys (now 23 & 22, both tall), and occasionally their friends (also large). Cars wouldn't do it. I found I fit in certain SUVs and mini-vans with relatively little problem (knees close to the dash, but I could drive them!). NOW, I have a scooter (heavy enough to require a lift or ramps to get it in the back of the van).
DO NOT tell me I have to drive a Hyundai (sp?) or Honda - I could before my knee problem, but, it was like driving a freaking go-cart) - or another CAR rather than the van. I COULD NOT fit into many cars without my knees being mashed against the steering wheel by closing the door, or knees or shins against the dashboards. I can't now because of my knee. So ... I'm as economical as I can be. And I'm sure that many others are, too. If you (and your family and maybe friends) CAN fit in a smaller, more economical car, more power to ya! DO IT! Just don't bitch at me because I'm not and can't!
"Ride a bicycle to work."
Well, commute distances have increased for many to well over 20 miles as people have moved to the suburbs. Cities have spent millions "revitalizing" areas, and in the process removed those homes that the majority could have afforded in favor of $100K+ condos and other housing. Property taxes have risen in these cities to cover schools, emergency services (fire, police, ambulances), and others for increased populations. Many people CANNOT AFFORD to live in cities. Those who have moved to the suburbs usually now have pets (cats and dogs) that are not allowed in many condos and apartments closer to where they work. True, if you only live a mile or two from where you work, you COULD ride a bike, but many of the avenues from your home to work have sidewalks (or it's illegal to drive your bike on it - safety of the pedestrians), and people pay less attention to bicycle riders (more attention than to motorcycles, but ... )
So how can it be done, safely? Most of the "older folks" (I mean 30+) who COULD ride bikes can't travel "at speed" on these roads/streets, so are subject to "getting hit" from behind by cars. In some cases, parking alongside the streets narrows the gaps where bike riders could travel. (There's no place to ride except close to the parked cars with cars whizzing by less than a couple of feet from you. A slight bobble by you or the car going by and SPLAT. And how 'bout someone opening their door in front of you?) Basically, if you're close enough to ride a bike, it's not safe; and if you're not close enough, then where's the argument go?
"Don't Travel"
Numerous arguments about this one:
Family ...
Ok ... The "nuclear" family has pretty much gone by the wayside once children reach a certain age and/or get married. There are those who end up "at home" or nearby (I'd be willing to bet many of these are not college grads), but there are others who must "follow the jobs" (While probably mostly college grads, I'm sure there are many that aren't.) The point is that after the kids graduate from college (and/or get married), they live AWAY from home. Maybe not far (I live within 45 minutes of my parents' and where I grew up and my brother and sister both live in the same town, though 15-20 minutes from my parents' home), but sometimes quite far (I have one cousin who grew up in West Lafayette, IN, who lives around the Cincinnati area (about 3 hours) and another who lives in Atlanta, Georgia - a few HOURS from Lafayette, whether by plane or car.) With the advent of the internet, you can stay in contact with family who live more than a mile or so away (which, now-a-days seems to be almost everyone). BUT, to see them face-to-face, you MUST travel. If you don't occasionally, you may not recognize them (even with sending pictures back and forth) when you DO actually see them. (My ex's mother recently died and we went to her viewing. I hardly recognized even my EX who I'd seen not six-week to two months earlier (she changed her hair-style completely), let alone her sisters, her/my niece/nephew, and others who were there, many despite having seen pictures of them fairly recently.) So, to keep family close, you MUST travel, even if it's only 15-20 minutes, it takes gas.
Work ...
Sometimes work REQUIRES you to travel and they don't cover the ground expenses with a company car or even a company credit card or reimbursement. While you can always rent a more economical car than your own, in situations like my own (ie: before the knee), I had to go with my own or larger, less economical vehicles, later (ie: after the knee) I would have to either use my own (hand-controls) or whatever handicapped vehicles were available, no matter the economics.
While hotels and motels try to accommodate the traveler by building NEAR convention and business centers, if you want to "go out" at all to see a site (say you went to San Francisco - wouldn't you want to see the Golden Gate Bridge? - New York - the Statue of Liberty/Empire State Building? Chicago - Museums/Sears Tower/Lakefront? etc.) you take mass transit/taxis (for which many prices will be rising because of gas costs), walk (you know how large and "safe" these cities are to non-residents who don't know WHERE it's safe?) or rent a vehicle. Sure, you could forego the sight-seeing, but then, if you wanted to see them, you would have to TRAVEL there on your own dime, rather than the company's (if you catch my meaning.)
Tourist Industries
Speaking of traveling on your own dime ... The tourist industries (airlines, hotels, motels, and many of the venues) RELY HEAVILY on TOURISTS, not locals. Their expenses will be rising soon, too, because of the cost of gas (some already have.) AND, many states depend on tourism dollars, both in- and out-of-state tourists. If people CANNOT afford to travel, tourism dollars become scarce and states lose money. Then they have to raise taxes and fees to cover the lost revenues.
This hits the people who live IN those states in the pocket-book. You can travel on your own, and again, you have the choices of mass-transit, walking, or renting vehicles. While there are hotels NEAR many of the tourist sites, you still have to get there.
"Buy/Use a Motorcycle"
Motorcycles/Scooters (owning/renting) have the problem of being able to travel "at speed," but many people in other vehicles can't seem to judge the speeds they at which they (motorcycles) are traveling as well as they can for cars, vans and trucks. There is a BIG safety factor, here.
You should wear leathers or at least heavy jeans and jacket (in case you have to "dump it"), and a helmet (even the guys on "American Chopper" wear helmets, so there goes your "macho" argument). You HAVE to watch EVERYONE in other vehicles, almost as thoroughly as if you were on the lake in a speedboat. Expect the unexpected, and expect every other driver to be stupid, at least once-in-a-while. It will cost less than a car, but safety-wize …
And what about those who might WANT to drive a motorcycle, but CAN'T? (like me!)
Handicapped/Physically-Challenged
And, in a growing number of cases, the handicapped/physically-challenged factor comes into play.
Even those who CAN walk pretty well ... I could before my knee ... have been ordered not to walk for long periods of time. There are diabetics that are prone to foot ulcers (my case), people with bone-spurs, arthritis, osteoporosis, those with heart conditions, etc. Some (like me) HAVE to drive the larger vehicles.
Don't assume that because a person can walk they don't have a medical problem requiring the handicapped sticker. AND, don't assume that because a person is driving an SUV or gas-hogging van that it's THEIR choice! Most of us are on some type of disability. We cannot easily afford gas on limited/fixed incomes, so don't get out much. Don't begrudge us the few times we can and do!
To Save Money
The added note in the message seems like a good one. Keep your tank about 1/2-full (enough to get around for a while). When gas prices are relatively low, FILL it ... When they are high, only fill it 1/2-way.
Walk wherever you can, especially if it's within a mile or so of where you live. Instead of "stocking up," if you can, walk and shop for the few items you need and can carry. Limit the "stocking up" to when you are already out in the car, and shop near where you work or live.
Ride a bike, if you have a safe way you can do so. (At least wear a bike helmet and bright clothing.) BTW: Where I live, the "main drag" is a busy state road. (NOT safe to ride a bike on!) While there are sidewalks, it's not necessarily legal to ride bikes on them, and some of them have a 6" drop to the street (no grass "safety strip"). Pedestrians have the right-of-way on them. Not only that, but there are places where there ARE no sidewalks, the roads are busy, and many are extremely narrow. BE CAREFUL if this is your choice!
Try to combine trips. This is the "shop-near-where-you-work/live/have to go-and-shop-on-the-way-home" option. If you have to make longer trips (my doctors are in Indianapolis ... 30+ miles from where I live), try to combine shopping at stores only available near those destinations. If you visit a family member/friend in a town a distance from you, combine shopping at stores only available near them. You get the idea ... ? Stop by your local store on the way home, rather than make a "special trip." Have kids? Do your best to combine trips here, too. - Drop Suzie at Ballet (if you feel it's safe to), and take Junior to his baseball practice, or vice-versa. If you have time, do a "quick-stop visit" to the store on your way back to get Suzie, Junior, or on the way home.
Summary
Boycotts of "big oil" companies and local gas stations only hurt the local economy.
Supply and demand allows for prices to rise when demand exceeds supply. The problem is that now the oil companies KNOW that we are willing or HAVE to pay $2.50+ per gallon of gas, and when supply goes back up, they will, undoubtedly, not lower the prices back down to under $2.00 per gallon.
We can think nice thoughts, and hope and pray for the best, but don’t count on it.
"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and expect nothing" is my motto. (My ex hates it!) In the case of gas prices"
- Hope that when it's possible, prices go back down.
(Don't COUNT on it, though.) - Prepare for the fact that they might not drop near as much as we want.
(Do one, two or all, of the money-saving tips, above.) - Don't expect either to happen.
This way, you're happy if they do, ready if they don't, and not disappointed either way.
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