So basically it's the size of the number that frightens you. Right? I'm reminded of a school superintendent I knew. We were talking about the upcoming school board elections and he mentioned about how he was inclined to root for business owners to win the seats as opposed to a factory line worker.

When I asked him why he explained that he knew that, due to the growing number of children in the district, the school district would be forced to consider some building expansion in the near future. He said he preferred to see people on the school board who were used to thinking in big numbers so that they could have a rational discussion regarding, oh say, the $2.3-million dollar bid verses the $2.1-million dollar bid rather than get hung up on the size of the number: A million dollars! A MILLION DOLLARS!! Oh my god! One...Million...dollars. Holy Jesus! Did you hear that? ONE FRICKIN' MILLION D-O-L-L-A-R-S!"

As the superintendent concluded, he needed board members could discuss the numbers without fainting over them.

Wrong. I fear nothing.

I was responding to the following in which you claim that, well, it's your comment...

All I'm saying, for right or wrong, you don't hear that because nobody anywhere is reaping such a profit. It's not that it's just a large profit. It's bloody gargantuan.

You act as if Exxon/Mobil or Shell are just your standard run o' the mill company that are getting rich off providing us with the latest electronic gadget or something but they're not. They're directly involved with providing us the most important commodity that this country needs to function. And when their actions start to interfere with the stability of this nation, then something needs to be done to correct that, be it new legislation or whatever. I'm not saying I agree with a "windfall" tax because I'm not sure that will benefit anyone but it is certainly clear that actions need to be taken.

I've said it before, but your ears must be clogged with all that Arkansas muck.... Take away their tax subsidies. Completely. And redirect them to alternative energy. The money these multi-national oil companies receive in tax benefits each year would be an incredible boost towards developing more eco-friendly and diverse sources of energy. And I'm not talking about this ethanol nonsense either.

When the oil companies want to start seriously producing alternative energy, then they can get some of their tax benefits back. But until them, screw em.

Ray, I find it amazing how far you go to defend companies that have acted in their own best interest to the detriment of this country.

And yet, it's LESS that the profit margins enjoyed by other industries. But then Big Oil is the political bogeyman, right?


Guess how much of the world's oil is owned/controlled by "Big Oil?" Approximately 5%. Guess who owns the [/i]other[/i] 95%? NOT-Big Oil. So what are you going to do about Not-Big Oil? How are you going to enforce your vision of energy reform on Not-Big Oil. Besides, it's not-Big Oil that sets the price of oil. It's those who own the oil AND convert what they own into a viable product for sale that actually control the price.


Excuse me? "Re-direct them to alternative energy?" At who's command? The Politburo? The Ministry of Energy?


What? Are we back to the polliburo again? Is this part of the Central Committee's 5-Year Plan? I thought the oil companies were in the oil business. It's what they do. News Flash. Microsoft doesn't manufacture sewing machines. Westinghouse doesn't build cars.


Again, you think they are in control, don't you? Well, here's what I find amazing. It's that the left can go bleating that "No oil for 10 years" manta while implying that alternative energy production ISN'T going to take at least that long to take up the slack.

It's not the margin of profit. Jewelry merchants have a markup far in excess of that of the oil companies. So do antique dealers, bars, and others selling non-essential goods to consumers who can afford them.

As Stone points out, the oil companies make something everyone needs. The eleven billion dollar net profit doesn't come out of the air. It comes out of the dollars you and I are paying to fill our tanks.

The unconscionable part is the collusion and manipulation of the market to generate that profit, and the tax breaks companies continue to receive in spite of record profits.

Oil speculators. Are these people individuals who buy oil and then sell it to oil companies? Why isn't it sold directly to the oil companies at an agreed upon price. If OPEC sets the price of a barrel of oil, why are speculators allowed private purchase? Answer: Phil Gramm. Do the research.

And when oil companies have to pay speculators instead of OPEC, we all lose, except the oil companies and the speculators.

If I make a thousand dollars by buying and selling rare coins, do I then apply for a tax break because rare coins are a finite commodity, growing less each year through attrition, and my business requires me to hunt them out so I can sell them to others?

But then the alternative energy sources will be in place forever, while the oil drilled out of, say, the Florida coast ten years from now will last the world about six months.

"Bleating" by the way. "Mantra"

Your neocon vocabulary builder in action.

So what. When talking of the gargantuan profits these companies are making, I think it renders the talk of profit margins moot.


Approximately 5%, eh? I'd like to see some documentation on that. I think it's probably closer to 20% - 25%. But again, so what. I think a better question would be, "How much of the oil that we consume is distributed by big oil companies and how much is not?" There, isn't that a bit more appropriate?


Excuse you what? Are you really that dense? You eliminate the breaks and incentives the oil industry is receiving and you instead distribute those same incentives and tax breaks to companies that are actually producing viable alternative energy sources. Am I speaking Greek here?



Really? When I see oil companies advertising how their investing this and that into alternative energy, I make the assumption that they're an energy company, not just an oil company. They don't just deal with oil, they also deal with natural gas and most of the companies are now paying lip service to producing alternative energy sources even though its more a marketing and pr ploy than anything else.

I'm just wondering why when the House passed a bill to eliminate $17 billion in tax subsidies to the oil industry, congressional republicans stepped in and blocked it. $17 billion. That's quite a number.

Could you illuminate someone who has insufficient knowledge of these matters?

I understand $11,000,000,000 of quarterly profit. I don't really understand what is meant by profit expressed in percentages. Is that profit divided by capital investment, profit divided by sales, profit divided by cash flow, or something else?

It seems that the type of profit percentages used are chosen selectively to make whatever point the writer wants to make. What was used in this case?

I find it very curious with all the Hurricanes we've had the past few days that the price of oil and gas has managed to stay low, while in the past ( just months ago) it would have jumped up significantly.

My oppinion is that despite other oppinions, Is that it is close to election time , and that the President do have some control as to how high prices go up or down.

We've been fed garbage about how they have no control over these thiongs but lo and behold since we're close to an election gas and oil (Oil prices have even dropped ) prices remain for the most part stable.

This is just another example of how crooked (the people we pick to look out for our interest) are and will do anything to get back into office.

Check out how prices have dropped.......... http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20080915/Oil.Prices/

Not five minutes ago I saw our President on television saying that the disruptions to the refineries would cause the price to go up.

But with the stock market down another 250 points today, the gas price doesn't seem to matter that much. It's just anther ripoff from the current administration.

We mustn't forget the Bush--oil connection in any of these matters.

When there's a shortage of something, such as when demand goes up and supply is relatively fixed, prices and profits go up.

This encourages investment in such a product, increasing supply, prices and profits fall.

Nothing to do with speculators. They can only make a profit if they sell for more than they buy, but the net position, over time is zero. What changes is the speed at which the change occurs...so oil prices rise steadily then quickly so people cut back then a reversal in prices occurs.

OPEC have as little control, if anyone as anyone else, they know that if prices go too high, the world economy slows down and prices fall, hitting their bottom line in tax oil revenue money.