Gas prices got you angry? Good. Tell Congress.
Do your eyeballs pop out of your head every time you fill up the gas tank? Are you afraid to look at the price signs to see how much fuel is going to cost you next time you pull up to a pump? Do you need a release for some of that anger?
Settle down, people. I am NOT advocating violence.
ConsumerWatchDog, formerly The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, launched a campaign last week to get you to send a consumer letter to elected officials to let them know what each driver paid for the last fill-up, the price per gallon paid, and the family’s estimated monthly fuel bill.
The idea, CWD says, is to get the attention of "Washington’s elected officials, who rarely have to use their own money at the gas pump. With gasoline prices at or within a penny of their all-time highs, families are at the breaking point, while elected officials are in a bubble until they hear from constituents."
So the consumer letter (read below for a copy that you can find on the CWD Web site) lets "lawmakers and the White House know that $4.00 and $5.00 fuel prices are unbearable. It demands action right now, to control oil market speculation and cut pump prices. Drivers can send Washington this dose of reality just by filling in a simple form that tells elected officials what the real cost of fuel is doing to individual American families."
I do believe we should let our elected officials know when we're not happy with something, but I'm so jaded I'm not sure if this will do any good. Anyone out there have an opinion on this type of action from consumers? I don't think it's as useless as those one-day or month-long boycotts people tell you to do against particular gas stations.
Here's the letter:
Dear (President Bush, Senator, Representative, by zip code):
Here's what I paid for my last fill-up: $85.62
This is where I bought it: Conoco Station, Mars
And this is my unbearable monthly fuel bill: $400
My family can't stand these outrageous gas prices much longer. We want you to do something about it.
Please don't tell me you can't, or that it's the way the free market works. You can regulate energy trading markets. You can regulate refineries, and demand that they increase the fuel supply on hand. You can take back the subsidies we taxpayers are giving to Exxon, Chevron and friends, then use these billions to expand renewable energy, build the public transportation we lack and cut our petroleum dependence.
You have to prove that you're listening to us, not the oil companies and the hedge fund traders.
We have cut back on using gas, but can't put off buying it altogether, like we can with a car or a new couch. Fuel is as
necessary as electricity or running water. We must have cleaner energy that we can afford.
Do something now. We can't wait until next year, or 10 years from now, for affordable fuel or for real action against global warming.
Additional comments:
Sincerely,
Name, Address, Zip Code
(AP Photo)
A native of Vietnam, 
Comments
i can't believe that these people who have been in congress sience the oil inbargo in the 1970's haven't done anything to make us energy independent years ago. i say DRILL DRILL everywhere and any where to get us out of the grip of the terririst, if they did this we could tell the to go eat sand
Posted by: meadow | July 22, 2008 10:37 PM