Posted by: MattJ
Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 11:46 AM
I'm sensing a pattern here -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11098458/Quote:
DALLAS - Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.
Posted by: clmibb
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 01:08 PM
Just a little FYI. I talked to my husband today and he was telling me that gas is supposed to get close to $4/gallon this summer. He works off shore for a major oil company and it's the rumor circulating out there. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.
Casey
Posted by: schanne
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 03:21 PM
$2.66 per gallon and climbing in South Jersey. It's pure American corporate greed. It's summer and they know the driving picks up in the spring time....bend over folks that time of year!!! Our wonderful president could give a flying F either....has to search out all those weapons of mass destruction....Oh did he find them yet?
Posted by: Dereck
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 05:09 PM
I live in Alberta ... we have tons of oil. We process the oil here and the government makes a killing on it. We are paying $1.01/Litre for bronze which I believe is $3.82/US Gallon. This is highway robbery. Then hoping to make Albertans feel good about being over charged for their gas they had profit sharing cheques sent in 2006 to every Alberta citizen for the sum of $400 CAD. I don't get it?
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 05:40 PM
Funny how these articles never say how much profit the government makes from Exxon Mobil – keeping in mind that the Gov has ZERO over head no R&D cost no infrastructure cost nothing all they do is take.
But this approach typically leads to comments similar to making them “ pay their fair share”. But nobody seems to have an answer for the “fair share of what?” question.
I guess I just want to know when “profit” became a bad word, and taxes became a way to “get even”.
Just my .02
-JBC-
Posted by: Bushi_no_ki
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 06:37 AM
Ok, first things first, the Oil companies are entitled to some profit (why else be in business), but that is obscene when there are people who are sacrificing to make ends meet. I'm not getting an extra $200 this summer to pay for gas.
Europeans, I understand you feeling a little less sympathetic on this matter, but also remember that in most of western Europe, a vehicle isn't so much of a necessity as it would be for someone who lives way out in the middle of nowhere. There is other forms of transportation that are far more reliable than what America offers.
I however, grew up in an area where a car is a necessity. In fact, it still is. Public transportation in this area is nothing resembling what it would be for a city of comparable size in England or Italay
Posted by: Ed_Morris
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 07:36 AM
the business tactics seem to parallel those of what organized narcotic gangs would use.
The 'resource wars' have only just begun....the 'winner' gets to be the dealer, the loser becomes the middleman.
The demand is the non-alternative addiction to their product....
Posted by: Cord
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 09:26 AM
Undoubtedly much of the cost is elevated by taxation. the joy of a 'politicaly correct' govt. means that every year the powers that be increase tax way over the cost of inflation on fuel, tobacco and alcohol. the chancellor justifies this by saying it is an attempt to encourage the man in the street to quit smoking, lower alcohol consumption, and use public transport. The reality is, that it is a cynical strategy to squeeze as much cash out of the countries most popular consumer products.
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:05 AM
Their volume is my point – how could the per-gallon profit be considered obscene. My problem is everybody always blames the evil company but never considers the government impact. They will scream gouging but have zero compulsion for raising taxes. Again the Gov has ZERO over head but generates as much or more revenue than the company does and nobody seems to care or notice. Imagine the article that started off “The United States Government posted record profits on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year - as the world’s only super power benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.” It easily could, but I think we both know it will NEVER happen.
Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that taxes are wrong, but somewhere along the line taxes stopped being about Government revenue and started being a way for them to punish/control certain activities.
It seems that taxes anymore are a way for the politicians to make the “poor” feel like they are getting back at the “rich” leading again the “fair share” argument. The only problem with this is my tax rate has nothing to do with your life as yours does mine. If I consider you “rich” and me “poor” how does the government raising your taxes help my situation at all, it doesn’t. But the politicians are hell bent on making it sound like they are going to get even with you since I can’t – some how this is supposed to make me feel better about my life.
How much screaming was there when Venezuela recently took control of the oil fields? How big of a loss was that for the impacted companies? But yet it generated only a blip on the news cycle. I doubt it will even get discussed much when the gov does the dog and pony and runs the Oil execs through the ringer one more time with their “fact finding” panel on gas prices.
Quote:
The reality is, that it is a cynical strategy to squeeze as much cash out of the countries most popular consumer products.
EXACTLY!!!!
-JBC-
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:10 AM
Sorry this is one of my hot topics…
I think people need to realize that when we run to the government and say “git’em” they do, by raising taxes. This in turn raises the cost of operation for the business, in turn raising consumer cost.
So who are they really getting?
-JBC-
Posted by: WuXing
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:54 AM
Anyone watch the documentary "who killed the electric car?"
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 12:34 PM
Matt, you do make a point but how many of those services are necessary or even with in the gov’s charter?
Hospitals, transportation, and one could go as far and say Education should not be under gov control – the health system is falling apart not through lack of gov involvement, but because of it. Education, would anybody argue that Private/Home school is better than public (I’m talking about results not cost or affordability) – why is that? They spend a fraction of the money yet get better results, per the gov this should not be the case but it is.
Yes, there are things the gov is here for, Military, Police, Roads, etc. but currently the gov is playing social engineer – smoking is bad, raise taxes, guns are bad, raise taxes, schools are bad, raise taxes, parents are not doing their jobs correctly, raise taxes, you use too much gas, raise taxes, and the big one the rich are bad, raise taxes.
What is really amusing is the more people that migrate to Hybrid cars the less sales tax revenue the gov gets. Have you heard the rumblings about a per mile tax to make up for the loss? There is not too much about it right now but it is there. If memory serve correctly there was at one point considerations for a tax break to buy a hybrid, now they want to raise, or should I say add another tax, because of them.
Smoking, if it is truly the killer we are told why isn't it legal – I’m positive that it has nothing to do with the taxes that are collected… What new and creative tax would be applied if all the smokers quit?
I don’t know, it just seems like people think the Gov is the fix all
Some recent examples:
Katrina – the gov didn’t protect us from anything
VT Shooting – The police didn’t protect anybody (did you notice, the killer was inside – the cops where outside). Yea, there was a huge show of force after the fact, but it was just a bit late.
9/11 – Again the Gov didn’t stop sh!t. The one that didn’t get to its location was stoped by the people (I am not going to argue conspiracy).
I cant remember his name but the guy that attempted to light his shoe on fire to blow up the plane was not stopped due to gov intervention it was stopped by the people on the plane.
Sorry, I believe that if we stop relying on gov for all aspects of our collective lives we would be much better off.
I was talking about similar thing with my uncle (college educated but is a dead beat). Basically he was complaining about how he is being held back by the man. When I said get a different job I was told “easy for you to say”. What is funny about this is I have zero issues finding a new job and I have no college and had horrible grades in HS. The difference is I act he complains.
I believe there are few true victims in life but it is just too easy to make excuses.
WOW, I’ll end my rant now…
-JBC-
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter
Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 01:52 PM
You should be proud it is and can be a big hurdle to overcome.
Oh yea:
And get off my lawn… or something like that.
-JBC-