Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

 The company that gave us one of the world's most horrific environmental disasters is now serving up another spectacle -- this one colored green rather than muck-black.  Two decades after the Valdez spill, a corporate fight is spilling out of Exxon's boardroom.  

As reported by The New York Times, the Rockefeller family wants to strip Rex W. Tillerson of his position as chairman because of perceived foot-dragging on sustainability issues.

It's encouraging to see business titans battling to determine how to be strategically, effectively, profitably green.  Thomas "The World is Flat" Friedman indicated the green revolution won't have really started until people stop talking happy and start throwing elbows.  At that point we'll know something big is at stake.  Dressing down a a board chairman looks pretty big from here. 

What does Exxon do next?  Probably, the media attention means it has to get more out front on sustainability.  Chalk one up for the Rockefellers and the planet.

This Presidential primary season is wearing me out. I'm tired. Both Democratic candidates are offering attractive platforms of change, but on the surface there have been very few stark differences between them...UNTIL NOW.

Insert the smoke and mirror parlor trick that is the Gas Tax Holiday.

On April 6th I bought a tank of gas for my 1998 Honda Civic HX** at $3.29 per gallon. Yesterday I purchased a tank of gas for $3.54 per gallon, almost exactly one month after the previous. I feel it. It hurts. Something must be done. Is it elitist and out of touch for me to feel that this 'holiday' being proposed by Clinton and McCain is so much hot wind blowing down Pandering Alley?

I took economics in college. Even if I had not, I would still smell a rat. Who's going to pay for this? According to Clinton, Big Oil is going to cough up the $8 billion in the form of a windfall profit tax. Never mind that there is no precedent for this tax. Never mind that this tax has not yet even been proposed, but rather is part of the bundled proposition set forth by the Clinton campaign. What if it doesn't pass? Who will pay for it? Both of those questions were rhetorical. It will not pass - it's been tried and has died before. I will pay for it. And you. In the short run, we'll simply play middle man between China and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, 18.4 cents worth of Federal highway dollars will be getting sucked down the ol' drain for every single gallon of gas purchased during this proposed holiday. This, during an election cycle focused in part on the dire straits of our national infrastructure.

Using today's pre-Memorial Day price as a benchmark, trimming that 18.4 cents off the top - and rounding up, of course - puts the price of gas at $3.36 per gallon. Sounds dreamy, I know. Now imagine the siphon on demand that will be created by the knowledge that, once the 'holiday' is over, the prices will catapult back to an adjusted level. People will line up at the pumps to top off their tanks. Demand goes through the roof. OPEC is not going to increase production just because we decided to take a break from reality. The reality is, profit margins for Big Oil will skyrocket.

I'm hearing the argument that the anticipated household savings of $28-$30 over the course of the 3 month tax holiday is tangible to working Americans, and that anyone opposed to the plan is out of touch with the middle class struggle. I disagree. Ten dollars is a non-issue in all but the most restrictive of monthly budgets. In the case of those most restricted household budgets, blowback will in some way or another generously offset that monthly ten spot. If this is allowed to play out, we will all be out far more than $30. I have not seen anything resembling a perfect way out of this mess we've gotten ourselves into. But come on - can't we at least try to keep our feet on the ground as we try to work through it?

My thoughts to this point have been overtly, unapologetically political, so let me end on a marketing communications note. No matter how bad an idea this is...no matter how much of a gimmick you may or may not believe it to be...I believe this proposed holiday is a marketing maneuver that will deliver for Hillary Clinton, in the form of primary votes in Indiana. People are frustrated over gas prices, and regardless of the facts of the case, this marketing tactic gives the good vibe of John Q. Public reaching out and touching his government.

** Stay tuned for my upcoming article on the choices we make as consumers of petroleum. My 1998 Honda Civic HX is 10 years old, with 158,000+ miles. I still get 37mpg city, 41mpg highway. I'm not trying to be smug or arrogant. But seriously, what the hell? 

Whenever the Federal Reserve Chairman decides to break the populus off with a little insight, I try to pay attention. Try. The uncomfortable reality of trying to listen to such dry material, however, is that...well...I just can't. Like a good little citizen intern, I make my cup of tea and sit down on the edge of the couch, with studious posture in effect, mental notebook open and ready to capture every morsel. Fifteen minutes in, and I am invariably tuned out. Last night was no different. By the time I snapped out of my Bernanke hypnosis, I had been maniacally blasting fools in Call of Duty IV for some time. I don't even remember getting up and turning on the XBOX. This morning, when I opened my eyes to the new day, I saw my breath. It was cold. And in this breath, I saw signs of inflation.

Let me back up just a few hours. On the way home to the edge of the couch yesterday evening, I first had to trade 36 dollars for 11.3 gallons of gas. When I got home, my girlfriend greeted me in the living room in full winter gear, complete with gloves, scarf and toboggan. I got the message - noone has ever accused Suzanne of being subtle. I had once again let our home heating oil tank run completely dry. THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHT DOLLARS LATER, I had successfully ordered 100 gallons of oil. So let's run back through the math. In the hour leading up to the Fed's big spiel, I dropped 344 dollars on petroleum-based necessities.

According to the AP, wholesale inflation grew by 6.3% in 2007, the largest jump in 26 years. Rising energy costs of various persuasions contributed a great deal to these numbers. My cold-natured girlfriend notwithstanding, I am bringing this up out of concern for my friends to the north. Here in balmy North Carolina, we've barely had a good frost so far this winter. I cannot imagine the hardships being endured by blue-collar families in the frozen tundra of New England, trying to decide - in some cases, literally - whether to eat or keep their furnace going. With the subject of the economy rapidly overtaking Iraq as the issue of distinction in this year's presidential race, candidates are scrambling to offer solutions and plans to save the day. Unfortunately, with a solid two months of hard winter remaining in the frozen North, any proposed plans to ease our burdens will be leaving these poor folks out in the cold.