The last study I read reported that, for every $1.00 of gasoline, “big oil” makes app. .08 cents profit. A large percentage goes to paying for R&D, production, delivery, marketing, etc. (paid by the consumer, of course). Meanwhile, .30-.40 cents of every dollar spent on gasoline goes to state and federal taxes. This breakdown, of course, depends upon the state and the region.
And these leftists love to complain about the ‘gazillions’ of dollars of profit that ‘big oil’ is making, how they ‘gouge’ the people at the pumps.
Spot on.
But don’t forget the effect of inflation. We’ve had QE1, QE2, and QE3, each of which degrades the value of the dollar. But all the while the value of petroleum stays pretty much the same. Net result - it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of oil.
OPEC ain’t stupid - they’re not going to sell a barrel of oil for the same amount of dollars that they did 4 years ago, when those dollars are worth much less than they were 4 years ago.