Exxon Boycott Raises Concern in Texas Town
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High gas prices are unquestionably painful in Beeville, Texas, a small town at least an hour’s drive from malls and specialized medical care. But some residents are doubting the wisdom of the county board’s call for a boycott of Exxon Mobil Corp.
Opponents of the boycott that starts today note that oil and gasoline taxes fund much of Bee County’s budget, and they say a boycott could harm mom-and-pop gas stations whose main profits are not from oil.
The boycott against the world’s largest oil company will continue until gasoline is down to $1.30 a gallon, said County Judge Jimmy Martinez, the county’s highest elected official. A gallon of regular unleaded Sunday in the U.S. cost $2.92 on average and $2.80 in the Corpus Christi region, AAA said.
“I understand free enterprise. I understand we live in America. But, by golly, just because they have a license doesn’t mean that they can rob,” Martinez said.
A Beeville Bee-Picayune newspaper poll showed 72% of those surveyed planned to participate in the boycott.
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