Posted on 02/19/2008 5:27:44 PM PST by smokinleroy
Oil is cause of downturn
Exxon-Mobil earned $81 billion in profits in the last two years. Are we surprised? Supply and demand — that's what they say. So Exxon-Mobil could reduce the price of a gallon of gasoline to $1.50 and the company still could earn $40 billion in profits in two years. Am I wrong on my math?
I predicted a recession two years ago when the price of gasoline hit the ceiling. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if we suck all the extra dollars from our citizens and force them to put it in their gasoline tanks and heating oil tanks, they will have no money left to buy clothing, gifts, entertain, go out to dinner, or buy the things that Congress and President George W. Bush say we now need to buy to come out of the dive into which this country's economy is heading.
So, the country is going to go into more deficit spending to send everyone a check for $500 or more. If the oil companies lowered the price of gasoline to $1.50, we would have an extra $100 a month to spend. Of course, if you earn $100,000 or more a year, or have stock in Exxon, you don't care about that.
We have a milk marketing board in Pennsylvania that regulates the price of milk. Why not establish a gasoline marketing board? What we don't need is an excess-profits tax. We don't need to give more money to an already glutted Congress that spends money like the old proverbial drunken sailor. Shame on all of our elected officials from top to bottom for allowing this rip-off to continue. Price-fixing by the oil companies is running rampant.
Ronald Goebel
Cranberry Township
While they’re at it...could they lower the price of a gallon of milk and a pound of butter? Maybe lower the price of a package of diapers, too? And why do tennis shoes now cost hundreds of dollars for some canvas and rubber?
Thanks! :)
“Why not establish a gasoline marketing board? “
And just one more smart-@ss comment:
OPEC, anyone? It’s been Oh-so-effective! Not.
Well, duhhhhh... And oil was the cause of the boom in the 90’s—not Bill Clinton.
more small oil
Dear Sir:
If you no longer desire to purchase gasoline, we now have many customers in India and China who are buying cars for the first time.
See you later, fella.
Exxon
Oh, I am sure Mr. Goebel works for free, aren’t you?? If not, surely he could volunteer to take a 50% pay cut so that his employer can hire another employee.
If it’s a good thing for the oil companies to do, then surely it’s a good thing for him to do, as well!
Uh, milk is no issue with me. Ya see we only use about 1 gallon a week.
Fuel is a slightly different issue.
Hey Michael Jordan's got to make a living too.
And just one more smart-@ss comment:
OPEC, anyone? It’s been Oh-so-effective! Not.
Politics and boards will solve nothing. Drill for oil and build refineries! Problem solved. Let the arabs cry in their sand!!
According to IRS data for 2004, the most recent year available:
Total number of tax returns: 130 million
Number of Tax Returns for the Bottom 50%: 65 million
Adjusted Gross Income for the Bottom 50%: $922 billion
Total Income Tax Paid by the Bottom 50%: $27.4 billion
Conclusion: In other words, just one corporation (Exxon Mobil) pays as much in taxes ($27 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers, which is 65,000,000 people! Further, the tax rate for the bottom 50% is only 3% of adjusted gross income ($27.4 billion / $922 billion), and the tax rate for Exxon was 41% in 2006 ($67.4 billion in taxable income, $27.9 billion in taxes).
Maybe we could ask the biggest profit hounds that make the most per gallon to cut their profits. The Federal and state governments!
If your numbers are correct, it appears they just desire a much larger profit.
When Al Gore demanded that gasoline needs to cost $5.00 per gallon(on national prime time television during debates) in 2004 and half the people in the United States voted for him, do you think the power players of the world's petroleum markets didn't take notice?
who’s “forcing” this twit to buy gasoline?
Obviously, you’ve not raised a passel of teenaged boys!
I was kidding about the milk. It just FLOORS me that people get all bent about one COMMODITY over another.
I blame the MSM. And Publik Skrewl. And the fact that no one (besides me, of course...well maybe Thomas Sowell) understands the basics of Economics or a Supply Side Economy!
(And I’m just a boring old Mom. You couldn’t pick me out of a line-up if you tried.) ;)
Politics and boards will solve nothing. Drill for oil and build refineries! Problem solved. Let the arabs cry in their sand!!
Since producers are making large profits it can only mean that supply is being artificially kept down so as not to keep up with demand.
Refineries not being built because of excessively high regulatory hurdles and new sources of oil not being accessed due to environmental prohibitions: these are the artifical barriers to supply.
People are right to be suspicious of oil companies being able to make such high profits for so long.
But they should not point the finger at the suppliers, but at the people, AKA gubmint, that is keeping the current suppliers and potential new suppliers from matching supply to demand and bringing prices more in line with what would be expected in a free market.
Weak dollar.
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