This is insane. There has to be away to counter these greedy companys from milking the American people dry of their money. Starting today, I am gonna put stock in solar powered cars and electric ones. Hope the gas companys go bankrupt!
On March 3, The Augusta Chronicle editorial staff linked the Democratic candidates with Venezualan dictator Hugo Chavez, when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama said the government should do something about the grossly astronomical and disproportionate profits the oil companies are bleeding from the American people. Nice smear.
You see, Chavez is not one of "our" dictators, like the early Saddam Hussein and Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan were. He's dangerous, uncontrollable and therefore not useful to us, so we marginalize him as the crazy socialist he is. I wish I had a nickel for every time the words "liberal/socialist" were confused with "Democrat" on these editorial pages. The words are not interchangeable.
Apparently The Chronicle and the GOP see no problem with gas prices, now more than $3 a gallon and predicted to go to $4 this summer. ... Teamed with gas/oil utility bills that sharply increase even as we use less, we have a ticking time bomb that is threatening not just the lower and middle classes, but (dare I say it?) may even have an effect on the upper classes.
Oil affects us all. It's simple economics, oil companies say: supply and demand. ... Well, we know when we're getting ripped off. We know that $40 billion in profits in a quarter, after paying executives hundreds of millions in salaries and bonuses, is unconscionable greed. We know that by artificially controlling the refining process, oil companies control prices. We know that not having built a new refinery in decades, but still taking tax incentives and using them to buy back company stock, is tantamount to stealing from us. We know that the poor and retirees having to choose among heat or fuel or groceries in the greatest country in the world is absolutely unacceptable.
We know that free market capitalism does not come with a license to steal.
Stephen Barrow, Aiken, S.C.
Comments
This is insane. There has to be away to counter these greedy companys from milking the American people dry of their money. Starting today, I am gonna put stock in solar powered cars and electric ones. Hope the gas companys go bankrupt!
If you hate the greedy company so much, you may want to try not buying their product.
We are between a rock and a hard place with this one, we have got to have their product....The gas and oil corporations should be able to make a profit, but not price gouge....Like it or not the current administration is making money on the high oil prices....
ride your bicycle more! move closer to where you work or work closer to where you live. walk. buy locally produced organic food that isn't shipped from all over the world. push the automakers for more electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. plan your daily trips to consolidate errands. avoid idling in your vehicle. slow down. and yeah, make those oil companies pay for extracting a resource that belongs to everyone. but they will still find a way to rob you, it's capitalism.
This LTE is the result of government schools. Not understanding how economics work, not understanding liberal/socialist and Democrat are interchangeable, and not understanding that removing the profit margin from the operation of a company is a good way to discourage the company from doing business are all signs of a severe lack of knowledge. I smell Democrat.
Excellent article on this in the NY Times. It was interesting to know that Exxon Mobil paid $30 BILLION in taxes last year. It represented a tax rate of over 40%. It also described that the rest of the profit is returned to regular people who have stock in 401Ks, teacher retirement plans, gov't retirement plans, and union retirement plans. Lots of people benefit from Big Bad Oil. You may want to look it up on google.
Thanks for telling them, justthefacts. Wonder why the letter writer doesn't blame the little green people for the lack of refineries.
I thought the entire point of having a business was to make a profit?
Think of gas prices in terms of your mileage. That 340 miles in the tank of your $35000 SUV with one occupant talking on the cell phone and traveling 75 miles per hour going to work 45 minutes away from home and back 5 days a week so you can make the payment and cover the insurance is worth something to you. If you are getting 20 miles per gallon, your tank holds 17 gallons, and gas costs $3.099, then you are paying 15.5 cents per mile. If gas was a dollar cheaper you would still be paying 10.5 cents per mile. May I make a suggestion? Trade for a smaller, cheaper car, slow down, turn off the cell phone, and stop listening to the Austin Rhodes Show. Your driving experience will fit your budget, you will live longer, and you will find much less stress in your life.
You do not HAVE to buy their product. Buy a solar-powered house, ride a bike, and give up plastic products. See? Very simple. Or, you could take another tack, and lobby the US Gov't to try to convince Congress to mandate military action against China, India, Europe, and anyone else who tries to buy oil on the OPEN, INTERNATIONAL petroleum market. Or, you could advocate letting Hugo Chavez set the quotas for every wellhead on the planet, and the price, shipping rates, etc., for all the oil out there. I mean, there are a million "solutions" to the problem, but the idea that oil companies are somehow "at fault" is just stupid. It's like complaining that Big Hamburger is somehow pricing Whoppers out of reach of the average person. Believe me, anyone in the business of selling oil would love nothing better than to make the same 9% profit margin on lower-priced oil. Then, you could make MORE money (say, on $1-gallon gas) because you would sell more of it. "Big Oil" is not making record profits because the price per gallon is up; they are making those profits because more gallons are being SOLD. That is, people who never bought a gallon of gas in their life, are now doing so.
The oil companies are entitled to make their money. If you don't like it, buy their stock and you'll benefit too. justthefacts, i know you aren't suggesting that XOM isn't keeping any of its profits when you say the rest of it is returned to the regular people. Remember, just because you looked it up on the internet doesn't mean it's true.
johnsmith, would you and your wife consider meeting some of us who are gathering on the 20th in Augusta?
Buick, pension funds, index funds, and mutual funds own 52%. Individual stockholders hold all but 1% of the rest, which is owned by the head honchos. Being a public company, everything is transparent and has to reported regularly. Besides, it was not the internet. It was the NY, by god, Times.
Why don't you pressure your Congressman to reduce the 48 cents per gallon federal tax on gasoline? They ain't keeping up the roads and bridges with it any how.
10-4. I misunderstood what you had written about the pension funds, etc.
Good point, jack!
Do you really want to have the US government telling a person or business how much money they can make? Oil companies sell gas at a low profit margin but have high volume. Crude oil is sold on the market where the buyer sets the price. Don't blame the companies for making a profit. If you want to blame someone, blame the oil speculators who run the price of oil up. And while you are at it, don't forget that because of the push for bio-fuels (Mandated by the government), more corn is going to fuel instead of feed corn or the food chain. That is why your grocery bills are going up lately. There are alternatives. Buy a car with better mileage, carpool, consolidate errands, walk when you can.
Long Live Mussolini! You're right, Democrats aren't Socialists, they're acting more like Fascists. There's a reason there should be an intelligence test for anyone that votes. Wanna see high gas prices? Visit one of your favorite Socialist countries. I have, many. We're no where close. What you idiots don't realize is that those profits go into 401Ks, mutuals, stocks, government pensions, and private pensions, and new research and development into cleaner, safer, and more efficient refining methods, NOT the CEO's pockets. Anyone has access to the salary information of a CEO of a publicly-held company. ...but, like the good little liberals you are, I won't confuse you with facts, although I feel as If I've done just that.
....Democrats, working against their own best interest.....always.
You see, that's why we need Democrats in control. We have Americans, of average means, telling us they don't mind paying high gas prices. We need leaders who represent the American people, not talking points from the failed conservative philosophy. When I listen to a lot of you know it alls, I just look at the condition and direction of our country and just shake my head. Dr Gunby said it best, too many southerners of average means, always vote against their self interest. What next, are you going to tell us manure makes the body grow big and strong. I doubt it, but it's clear, you're full of it.
{Sigh} ...and apparently you "less-intelligent" posters don't understand profit margin. Yeah, take their profits, they'll create more. How? They'll increase the cost of production and pass it on to you. Keep it up and they'll eventually just say the hell with it and, as with Atlas, finally shrug. Government going to step in then? Are they going to control the production then? Right, they can't even handle the damn post office.
Yeah Signal, you're very intelligent. You're telling me, I should get gouged at the pump, so a CEO can make 40 million and I'm a fool to think this is out of line. By the way, what oil company do you own? Either you're profitting from these excessive prices or you're out of your mind defending such greed.
RCR, you couldn't possibly be more clueless. You point as though you feel you have a viable thought.
While Exxon posted the highest profit, Apple had a greater profit margin. I guess the government should step in and fix that....they must be gouging us. it's entertaining to hear the left whine when they can't the things they want for free.
RichmondCountyRes.., you are without a doubt the most RETARDED poster in this forum. It is SO OBVIOUS you don't know what you're talking about. DO YOU KNOW how many pension-funds and retirement accounts befefit from oil companies who are, listen REAL close here, PUBLICLY TRADED!
RCR...you are, in fact, a fool for thinking a 40 million income for a CEO is out of line. His pay is determined by those he works for.....the stock holders. Just how much would YOU determine is NOT out of line? Where would your arbitrary number be. Now imagine if the Government, not the people you work for, decided just how much YOU were worth paying. You may not like it so much then.
RICH COU RES..., DON'T BUY GAS! How about that? WHO IS MAKING YOU BUY IT? You have MANY options! But it seems the only option your are taking is the "SIT AROUND AND WHINE" option.
Class envy, (the driving force of liberals) is an ugly thing.
RICH COU RES.., why don't you SUE MERCEDES BENZ? why don't you sue STARBUCKS? These are businesses that charge a BUNCH of money for their product! I mean.., $5 for a cup of COFFEE? PALEEEEAAAZZZE! ME? Oh.., well I simply DON'T DRIVE a mercedes & I don't DRINK STARBUCKS! It's called FREE-WILL you idiot.
I bet RICHMOND COUNTY RES has a CELL PHONE. I bet they have MORE THAN ONE TV too. I bet they have cable television AND hi-speed internet!~ How much do you PAY to watch American Idol every month, RES? How much do you pay to sit on your butt and talk on the PHONE? WHy are you paying THOSE outrageous prices? You don't HAVE to, you know. I think you should call your congressman. woman..., uh, PERSON.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
