[Mr. Silverback]

If anyone wants on or off my column ping list, please notify me here or by freepmail. These columns run every two weeks.

[Mr. Silverback]

Silverback's column ping!

If anyone wants on or off my column ping list, please notify me here or by freepmail. These columns run every two weeks.

[John Valentine]

I read the other day, and I believe it, that "Big Music" makes more money on each mp3 song download off iTunes than "Big Oil" makes on each gallon of gas.

Where's the outrage, I ask you?

[BW2221]

I am to the right of Attila the Hun on most issues, but am not a fan of big oil. There are only realty five major oil companies that control the market.

They may not be price gouging, but I think it's fair to say they are not highly competitive at the retail level.

Dodge wants you to buy their vehicles over Ford or Toyota. They have aggressive advertising, test drive promotions and incentives Tell me what ConocoPhillips is doing to win your business from ExxonMobil or Shell. Every major oil company is very pleased with the status quo. They may not be very competitive, but they are all making record profits.

[Wristpin]

All true...but you forgot to look at the traders extracting the "fear premium" or as theycall it in the car business..."added dealer profit".

[blitzgig]

Good job. The collectivist legislators in the Congress think we're stupid. They'd better think again before trying to sell us their nonsense.

[Fudd]

If you want real fun, try calculating hte price of gas over the last thirty years and comparing it to the per-capita fed gov spending, after adjusting for inflation. If the gas had kept up with government spending, we'd be paying $8/gallon!

[groanup]

Bump for a great article. Bill O'Reilly is one of the demegogues. The cost of gasoline is close to what is was 30 years ago adjusted for inflation. Try that calculation on coca cola.

[facedown]

Bump, bump and bump.

[Mr. Silverback]

Ping!

[hermgem]

Just look at that number two Democrat Senator Mr. Dick Durbin.
He tried to make himself a name with two oil company price gouging investigations on his home turf.
In both cases belated results of gouging turned out nothing.
What happened however was that Amoco gave up and sold out to British Petroleum.
In Dick's Illinois/Chicago backyard people lost their good paying jobs as not only Amoco's Petroleum Division, but the Chemical Division also went along.
Talk about forcing oil companies into selling out and deserting from fame seeking politicians the likes of Dick Durbin.
Competition anybody, not in Dick's backyard.

[IronJack]

The big oil companies recently posted record profits, but they also recently reported record sales. Funny how those two things go together, isn’t it?

Increased demand in the face of higher price also contradicts the law of supply and demand. Higher prices drive demand DOWN, not up.

If anyone is immune from the law -- in more ways than one -- it's the oil companies.

[FreedomPoster]

Ping.

[bandleader]

While"Big Oil"might not be guilty of"Price Gouging",I have noticed that while gasoline prices can(and do)rise precipitously,they come down assisted by a very large PARACHUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LetsRok]

Would entrepreneurs get out of bed in the morning to make a 3% profit margin running a small business?

If I could pay myself millions of dollars a year in salary and still make a 3% profit margin then yes I would be in business.

[Skooz]

You make model planes?

[stockstrader]

Great post!

The government also uses the oil companies as a branch of the IRS. Exxon/Mobil might have made $36 billion last year,,,but they paid more than DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT in taxes!! No one ever mentions that fact.

The government (Fed, state and local) makes about 50 cents/gallon and the oil companies make about 10 cents/gallon. The government prices gouges us for gas--and the oil companies get the blame. Go figure.