Oil Company profits get the eye from the GOP

E

Eghad

New member
Congress just gave the oil companies generous tax cuts under the provsions of the energy bill that was passed. Exxon has posted a record profit far any US Company.

questions I want to hear answers to also......

At a press conference today, Republicans led by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert will tell the companies to explain why they are making so much money and what they will do to bring down the cost of gasoline.
"Big Oil needs to do its part. Increasing capacity and improving refineries will do much to boost supplies so that consumers do not feel such a big pinch," Mr. Hastert said in prepared remarks obtained last night by The Washington Times.
"These are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures. We expect oil companies to do their part to help ease the pain American families are feeling from high energy prices," he said.

Mr. Hastert said the companies must tell consumers when new refineries will be built, when an Alaska pipeline deal will be signed and whether companies are "doing everything they can to make sure consumers get a fair deal on energy costs."
 
Since a BIG chunk of what is paid for a gallon of gas goes for State, County, and/or City taxes, I'd say the government should be having a profitable year also.

"So, Exxon Mobil broke corporate records last week, posting
a $9 billion profit on $100 billion in revenue in the third
quarter. Right on cue, Democrats demanded that Washington
confiscate some of those profits. Are they predictable or
what?... Want to know who is making a bigger windfall than oil
companies are making from the prices paid by the poor gasoline
consumer? It's good old Uncle Sam and his 51 little brothers.
Refining costs and profits combined make up about 15 percent of
the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy
Department. State and local taxes make up almost double that,
about 27 percent. State and local gas tax collections exceed oil
industry profits by a large margin, according to a Tax Foundation
study released last week. Since 1977, consumers have paid $1.34
trillion in gas taxes---more than twice the profits of all major
U.S. oil companies combined during that same period. Last year,
state and federal gas taxes took in $58.4 billion. Major U.S. oil
company profits last year totaled $42.6 billion." ---New Hampshire
Union Leader

:D
 
I'm glad that they are making "profits". Being that the US government has regulated these companies in where they can drill for oil, when they can drill for oil, where/when they can build refineries to turn oil into gas and all the other products that can come from oil. So needless to say, they can't spend there money to build anything, so my IRA contributions love their profits...
Don't forget the Envro wackos!!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
 
Once again, I'll ask. Profits are a bad thing?

Methinks if profits were not allowed, anyone in 'big oil' would quit in a hurry. Same for pharmaceuticals.
 
Oil Companies profits? Or Shareholder's profits? Aren't all the Oil Companies publicly held. How many of those complaining about the profits own stock in these companies. For those that say they don't, they might want to check their Mutual Funds, Retirement Plans (401k administrators), etc.

As to Windfall Profits, what happens when the refineries have to be rebuilt? Some of today's profit becomes tomorrows capital improvement.
 
In the energy bill that was just passed

passed a bill that would give federal insurance to oil refiners whose expansion projects are delayed by lawsuits or regulatory snags. It also put the Energy Department in charge of permits for new refinery projects as a way to speed up approvals.

So the oil companies need to crap or get off the pot, since the new energy bill passed they dont have any excuses. we gave them tax breaks to do this stuff.

How many of the energy companies have announced the will be putting these profits into

new sources of energy?
new refineries?
drilling and exploration?

For the record I am against any kind of windfall profit tax.
 
These aren't nationalized companies. If we're too stupid to keep guzzling this stuff even at these prices, we deserve the bill.
 
"These aren't nationalized companies. If we're too stupid to keep guzzling this stuff even at these prices, we deserve the bill."

so you are going to raise your own food and hunt for meat and not go to the grocery store? Need fuel to make stuff and transport it to the grocery store.
Most of the stuff we buy to use everday has fuel costs attached to it..

so are you going to live off the land?
 
Here's the really indecent part of all this.

The oil companies usually lease the plots where their wells are from the govt. Not the whole area, just the plot around the well. At pennies per century prices.

So, we're subsidizing the oil industry by basically GIVING them free oil from public lands (not all are on public land, but most are) which they then refine and sell back to us at prices that are inflated (BTW, EXXON/Mobiles 3d qtr profit statement equates to $100 MILLION per day in just "profit") AND they get a tax break on top of that.

Where do I go to sign up for this kind of treatment? It's not for everyone either. Not even the super-rich cuz Bill Gates (richest man in the world) doesn't even get this sort of benefit.

I don't have a problem with profits. It's profits so immense because of favortism that it appears obscene that I object to.
 
Eghad,

No, but did you or anyone you know participate in the one day gasoline boycott? Got to be near 3pm when the stocks of deer jerky and rolled oats gave out, had to get gas?


I've got three majic letters for you: SUV. Take the Sentra beater to work instead and you'll stick it to Exxon to the tune of $20 a work week, minimum. That's $1000 a year. If 1 million people didn't drive the SUV to work for a year, that would be a $10 billion message sent to the oil companies.


I know - wild, radical stuff. I should be in jail.
 
Forget oil, we need nuclear power, there's no reason at all we cannot get 100% of our power from nuclear and hydroelectric plants.
 
I really don't have a problem with rich people making a profit. Heck, rich people gave me a job. The company I work for(not an Oil Co.) made a 25 million profit this year. Some goes into their pockets, some into upgrading our equipment in hopes of making more profit next year.

They pay me a decent wage for the work I do. In turn I buy a house, groceries, gas, GUNS, etc., etc.,etc. This money helps others to have jobs and pay bills, too.

That is the way a free market economy works.

Economics 101:D
 
Handy I have been driving 4 cylinder vehicles since the eighties. At the present time I have a Ford Ranger with a 4 cylinder engine. The biggest vehicle we owned was a Ford Explorer but it had a 6 cylinder engine in 1992. My wife drives a Tiburon with a V6, However she is within 2 miles of her work place. We have only put about 10,000 miles per year on it.
 
Eghad,

I wasn't saying YOU need to drive your SUV less. Nor was I saying that was the only thing to do. My point was that, EVEN with utilities, one can vote with their wallet. It's not air - you can do with less of it.

Wood burning stoves.
Solar water heat.
A bicycle.
Less A/C.
Fewer errands.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top