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Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of effect. Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil. If enough of us do that then oil prices will

Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of effect. Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil. If enough of us do that then oil prices will go down and that will effect SA.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of effect It does because most people don’t do it. So you get aides tallying phone calls to help an elected take a position on a fringe issue (Saudi relations are fringe in most districts and states) possibly a day or two before the vote. > Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil This is harder and less effective. (You should still do it, for the environment.)
- UncleOxidant 4y ago
  Ok, so you call your congressman and tell them you don't like SA and that we should... do what? Have our ambassador file a protest? That's going to be effective how? Yes, using less oil is harder than calling your congressperson because you actually have to change behavior and perhaps live with some inconvenience. But it's hard to see how it's less effective at this point. Go ahead and to both. The call is easy. But the underlying reason that the US has been overly accommodating to SA (including selling them military equipment) is because we are heavily dependent on oil and oil is a global market so we need SA to keep production up.
  - selectodude 4y ago
    We should cut them off militarily. They buy American weapons because they have infinite money and the Americans have the best shit. That's what the bill floating through Congress is trying to accomplish. Calling your congressman to tell them to vote yes on cutting off Saudi can move the needle here.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > so you call your congressman and tell them you don't like SA and that we should... do what? Unless you know the policy space, expressing a broad position is enough. If you know something about the policy space, e.g. see the Politico article in my last comment, you can specify bills. But that’s complicated and prone to misinterpretation and generally only productive when coördinated. > it's hard to see how it's less effective Oil demand is elastic [1]. Its supply is manipulated. A barrel of oil not consumed by you reduces marginal prices and cracking spreads. That, in turn, spurs demand. For Riyadh, it would take a massive amount of demand destruction to him up their revenues given their influence over OPEC. [1] https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44920224/Dynamic_panel_data_approaches-with-cover-page-v2.pdf https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44920224/Dynamic_panel...
    - lazide 4y ago
      Trying to get the US to cut off KSA has about as much a chance of success as getting a heroin addict to cut off their dealer. Ain’t happening.

Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of effect. Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil. If enough of us do that then oil prices will go down and that will effect SA.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of effect It does because most people don’t do it. So you get aides tallying phone calls to help an elected take a position on a fringe issue (Saudi relations are fringe in most districts and states) possibly a day or two before the vote. > Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil This is harder and less effective. (You should still do it, for the environment.)

UncleOxidant 4y ago
Ok, so you call your congressman and tell them you don't like SA and that we should... do what? Have our ambassador file a protest? That's going to be effective how? Yes, using less oil is harder than calling your congressperson because you actually have to change behavior and perhaps live with some inconvenience. But it's hard to see how it's less effective at this point. Go ahead and to both. The call is easy. But the underlying reason that the US has been overly accommodating to SA (including selling them military equipment) is because we are heavily dependent on oil and oil is a global market so we need SA to keep production up.
- selectodude 4y ago
  We should cut them off militarily. They buy American weapons because they have infinite money and the Americans have the best shit. That's what the bill floating through Congress is trying to accomplish. Calling your congressman to tell them to vote yes on cutting off Saudi can move the needle here.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > so you call your congressman and tell them you don't like SA and that we should... do what? Unless you know the policy space, expressing a broad position is enough. If you know something about the policy space, e.g. see the Politico article in my last comment, you can specify bills. But that’s complicated and prone to misinterpretation and generally only productive when coördinated. > it's hard to see how it's less effective Oil demand is elastic [1]. Its supply is manipulated. A barrel of oil not consumed by you reduces marginal prices and cracking spreads. That, in turn, spurs demand. For Riyadh, it would take a massive amount of demand destruction to him up their revenues given their influence over OPEC. [1] https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44920224/Dynamic_panel_data_approaches-with-cover-page-v2.pdf https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44920224/Dynamic_panel...
  - lazide 4y ago
    Trying to get the US to cut off KSA has about as much a chance of success as getting a heroin addict to cut off their dealer. Ain’t happening.