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| I am sorry, but record profits, while capitalism at its best and evidence of a strong free market, are also capitalism at its worst in this case. "Record Profits" is really a misnomer. If Exxon and Mobil were still two distinctly different companies you would have two companies making $18B in profits each, NOT anywhere near a record, and we'd be paying a bit more for gasoline because of duplication of effort in both companies. However, there wouldn't be any screaming about price gouging. If Starbucks were to purchase the next three largest oil companies, they would set a record for profits. Big deal! There isn't a businessman on the planet that would use the actual bottom line number on a P&L as a measure of the success of a company. I'd much prefer to invest my money in a company earning 20% than 9%. |