Exxon Mobil posts record U.S. profit

Post up the best oil industry lies:

I'll start:


"We cannot keep up with demand, we are at maximum refining capacity."

As "suddenly" the demand for oil rose sharply, seemingly unexplicably, within the last 2 to 3 years...


"The hurricanes are responsible..."

Yet Gulf areas are battered by numerous hurricanes every year.


Hey, then where's all that oil going that we supposedly invaded Iraq for?


h34r:

[Broken External Image]:http://www.sportbikecowboy.com/images/bigoil.JPG

 

Both jayselle and fshagan:

Both of you seem to be evading the point as it affects many of us: the essentiality of gas (and oil) to people regardless of income.

iPods, whatever the Chicago Board of Trade "produces" and the others do not occupy the place of importance in our lives, day in and day out, that gasoline, natural gas, electricity and water do. I do not own an iPod.


But EVERYONE, including, to a degree, non-drivers, is taxed to build and maintain roads and to support the accompanying "infrastructure", including traffic control hardware and law enforcement. To this degree are the manufacturers of vehicles and the oil companies at least indirerctly subsidized. And to at least this extent are all citizens entitled to protection against rapacious corporate behavior.

 

I have talked with many in the airline industry, including my son who is a commercial pilot, and they believe deregulation should never have taken place. One thing for sure, many cities that provided the lifestyle that many lament is now gone are now practically gone as well because of deregulation. It depends on how you book whether or not tickets are cheaper. I liked it when tickets were treated like money and there was cooperation among the air carriers. Sometimes cheaper is not the most important consideration.

 

regulate, de-regulate.....all big talk. Doesn't matter in the end where the money goes.

Because we're the ones paying it!

Though I'll never be able to fully cut my use of petroleum products, I'm sure as hell making choices that effect how much I use. Demand is driving this train.

 

I think I did address this issue, and agreed that you have a salient point. We are in an oil based economy, which is why our official, bi-partisan government policy since the 1980's has been that we will protect our access to world-wide oil reserves in the free market at the point of a gun (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Doctrine). Everyone needs the stuff.

You can make the same argument about financial services, unless you put your cash under the mattress. Computers are pretty important nowadays too.

The infrastructure is probably aided by higher gas prices, assuming it really is "too high" and people start to cut back. So far, the "too high" mark appears to be $3.00 a gallon, as we are not reducing consumption below that level. I know that California has sales tax on gasoline, so they are collecting more per gallon sold now than they were 2 years ago. And less driving impacts roadways positively. Less miles driven equals longer life for roadways.

So Exxon-Mobil, in making more profit at the same sales price is "raping" us.

The question is, so what do we do about it? Lamenting an "obscene profit margin" that is not at all unusual in the quarter listed is not going to help. Exxon happened to have the highest margin, but others had lower profit margins. The difference between the "obscene" and the ... what, "moral"?... profit was not a result of what we payed at the pump. We chose what station to go to, and they are generally about the same price (and most of us steered our vehicles to the cheapest station anyway). So why did Exxon make 4 or 5 points more in profit?

Perhaps a larger portion of their income is from refining, which is were the largest increase in margin has been (other than the crude price). I suspect the real reason is that they are now realizing the economies of scale that resulted from the merger of the two oil companies. I suspect they are simply more efficient now, so they make more on every gallon of gas sold at the market price.

You're right ... they should be severely punished for that. We want them less efficient!

So let's pass a "one-time" tax on the behemouth, and take away the profit from the union pension funds that own most of Exxon. That will lower prices! Wait, maybe it won't LOWER prices, but at least it will "hurt them". Yeah. We hurt them.

Corporations don't feel pain; their employees and owners do. If Exxon-Mobil isn't profitable, they cut jobs, and reduce dividends. That falls disproportionately on the working man and the retiree who's pension fund owns the stock.

So let's put in price controls, and let the chips fall where they may for the employees and the pension funds. But wait ... do we WANT lower prices? Which will lead to increased consumption?

No, it seems that your argument is that the price increase falls unequally on the poor and lower middle class. I agree. Higher prices do fall disproportionately on the poor and lower middle class.

So what do we do? Some have suggested a tax on the oil companies to pay for subsidies for consumers. Fair enough. Do we want to structure it so the consumers hurt most ... those driving huge gas guzzling Ford 350 trucks ... get the most back? Hummer owners need love too. Obviously this is at odds with what our long term goal is ... energy independence. Perhaps the government should simply buy all hybrid owners all their gas for the next five years. And tax those that own cars that get less than 25 MPG.

But then the poor pay more, again. Because most of them can't afford a new, fuel efficient car. Perhaps we can subsidize new cars and gas purchases for poor people; free Prius and gas cards for the 39 million people living in "poverty" (15% of which own their own home).

Listen, I think you can make an argument that fuel oil for home heating should be subsidized for low income people. Otherwise they die from exposure. We do that now through those charges on our utility bills, and most of the NE states that have fuel oil heating have programs already. Or that government programs should help poor people with transportation to and from work.

But the real problem Exxon-Mobil has is not their profits, but the media that is feeding the American people's ignorance about markets and finances. "Record Profits" is a meaningless term, used simply to inflame the passions of people mad because their SUV is costing them $80 to fill up instead of $40.

 

[ And tax those that own cars that get less than 25 MPG.

You'll love this. Guaranteed.

Gas Stamps. Like Food Stamps. Utilizing the existing Food Stamps bureaucracy; no new mechanism for screening "need". Probably just need more screeners.

Create a fund. Into it goes oil company money from 1) "windfall profits" (to be defined) 2) a revised Guzzler Tax with a threshhold, uh, exactly where you said: 25 MPG.

Gas Stamp recipients would have to provide proof of "need to drive", e.g., work, providing home care for someone, head of household or child needing to drive to take post-high-school or GED classes, etc. Gas receipts, proof of class credits, etc. saved and submitted for re-authorization. Recipients themselves subject to Guzzler Tax; fewer Welfare Cadillacs. :angry:

Geez. Made me think. Not like to think on weekends.

Whaddya say?

 

Headline on my Yahoo news just now:

EXXON-MOBIL WORKERS GOT FAKE FLU SHOTS

I thought, "Hmm---interesting juxtaposition with their other news."

But no, E-M wasn't padding their bottom line with watery vaccine. It was some fly-by-night "Home Health Care" vendor who apparently ripped them off.

I'd love to see the two headlines run next to each other, though.

 

I like that idea! I'll bet I'll be able to buy "gas stamps" as cheaply as I can "food stamps" ... .50 on the dollar! It would cut my gas expenses in half! No need to buy a Prius now.

 

would the fact that they had profits of 5 million PER HOUR make you feel any better??

 

I think that this is a very difficult problem... here's my take.

I personally think that Americans need to change their ways significantly. Look at what we are talking about. It's almost as if we believe as if cheap gas is a divine right... guess what? We Americans collectively have allowed ourselves to glut to a point where we spread ourselves and our economy across this country... and gas affects the price of EVERYTHING. Like it or not we depend on gasoline...

The problem is in part the very infrastructure of the goods that we buy and commerce... go to a supermarket... how many hundreds of miles did those goods have to travel on a truck burning fuel? Another part is individual wastefulness... people figure gas is cheap, so they live wastefully... Both of these things needs to change, and unfortunately, it won't be pretty.

Cars need to become more fuel efficient, but unfortunately they won't until people demand it and wake up from the euphoria of cheap gas.

How we get there from here i don't know... rising gas prices will definitely hurt the middle and lower class more than anyone else, but our nation's obsession with cheap gas, fast cars, and big SUVs needs to end.