Quote:
Originally Posted by dmek25
schneed, i didnt mean to attack you personally. but we definitely look at this differently. you think its fine for gas to be $5.00- $6.00, or whatever, a gallon so the companies can maintain record profits. we disagree on that. we disagree on how they go about it. we definitely disagree on the governments place in this problem. you see this as capitalism at is finest. i see this as raping the American public. the government can control anything it wants to. why not oil? because of the Saudis influence with the American government. and yes, i understand who O.P.E.C is. and i also understand the military's involvement in the middle east. the little bit of stability they have comes from an American influence/ presence. we Americans are always more then willing to aid any country that asks. how about someone scratching our backs every once in a while?
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These "record profits" are only because usage is at an all-time high. Most big companies, like Coca Cola, operate at a 20% profit. Oil companies operate at a 2-7% profit rate. The various levels of Government make 10 times the profit as oil companies in the form of taxes, which they have done zero work to earn. Also, environmental restrictions and regulations force prices and production costs WAY up. The oil companies are NOT the enemy OR the reason for prices being high and moving even higher. The government and Congress has the majority of the guilt and yet, we still listen to them when they want to investigate and tax oil companies into oblivion to please the uninformed sector of the population. Oil companies are ALREADY operating on substandard profit rates and if they're squeezed any more, they will have to begin offering lower quality fuels, forcing us to use more.
Yes, total profits may be records, but you have to look at their profit % which is nothing compared to the Governments'. Also, inflation must be figured into it.