01350banshee

"As a consumer we have no "given Right" to know how a company plans to spend it's profits."

This is exactly why many of us feel we are getting robbed at the pump!! No new refineries, etc.. off shore sites dont seem to help either, so as for the R&D. R&D what, how to continue to raise the price of fuel for the conusumer while making a large profit. Maybe, if big business was more public with their doings, there would be 1 less ENRON out there where it's share holders are lining its pockets at the american consumer expense.

"To put that into perspective, Exxon’s revenue for the year exceeded Saudi Arabia’s estimated 2005 gross domestic product of $340.5 billion, according to statistics maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency." Need I say more!

dezeldog

"Need I say More"
Yes, never elect a Texas oil man to the White House again!!! Need I say more

Jim

crobtex

What do you want King George to do? Shut down the free interprise system? Maybe just for the oil companies?

dezeldog

No but maybe we should look elsewhere for our oil needs ie western Canada and the oil sands of Alberta. It is our northern neighbor, our ally and it is cheaper or the same price. Maybe King Georeg doesn't want to offend his friends in the middle east and loose his commision. What ever he decides he better make it quick as the Chinese are knocking on the dor for that cheap Canadian oil. Kinda makes ya wonder,first time in history that a oil co. realized that kind of profit and we have a Texas oil man as president. Whayada think?? Help me out here, what am I missing??

Jim

crobtex

A lot. Facts?

HaulinBut

Some of us are sure getting worked up about a company making less than 1/2 (percentage wise) the profits of many other industries! Funny that I don't hear any of you who are whining bringing up the fact that the company kicked out 38 BILLION in Taxes! Didn't hear about the fact that 75% of these profits came from overseas either, which added very generously to the tax base.
As I stated on this forum before, I believe the day will come (probably sooner than I thought) that we will look back at these prices as being "the good old days".
As to being a greedy shareholder, while I am happy for the holders of these stocks, I think you will find that there have been equal or better profits in other sectors such as gold, coal, and other commodities. Of course there will be taxes to be paid on these profits, but I see it all as a big plus. Alternative fuel sources would never be seriously concidered if crude remained cheap, the increased demand is indicative of a booming economy. We have never had it so good, and besides, I think I recently read something about promising research being done involving extracting a very high grade of oil from the Spotted Owl!

newriverSpecon

[QUOTE=01350banshee]"As a consumer we have no "given Right" to know how a company plans to spend it's profits."

This is exactly why many of us feel we are getting robbed at the pump!! QUOTE]

I have no issue with any company making money. The oil companies have a HUGE customer base. But, they also have control over something that is not optional for most people to buy. It is also something that has a huge impact on the disposable income. If it was only a small part of the disposable income being chipped away people would not care. They would still have the money for all the other (usually, but not always, wasteful) junk. People do not like the idea of being force to pay huge costs. It is the "No taxation without representaion" idea. This is (as said previously) because we non-investors really have no right to a private company. If I rent a house to someone and charge three times the average rate, but have the only unit open, then I can get it. The people will hate me and call me a names, but they have no right to look into my private information.

Do I like dropping $140 every week or two in my vehicles tanks? No. Do I have a choice right now? No. Until there is an alternative they will not have to lower prices. When that happens the cost will be so high they can't stay in business. Right now they are only making 10%. Can anyone say Detroit?

Randy

dezeldog

"A lot of facts"

I'm waiting. Like I said 'help me out'.

Jim

crobtex

You have "A lot of facts"? Throw them on out, I'd like to see what you have.

j-fox

I keep hoping that big oil is waiting for us consumers to get our fill of high prices and DEMAND ANWAR to be developed. Then the oil companies will have the $$$ to build the pipeline that we need for our security.
We waste a lot of fuel in this country. Look at the vehicles with only one person in it, going to work.

mcoleman

I'd rather see fuel alternatives that would make us less dependent on crude and more dependent on the American farmer and American industry. We have a plant near Joplin making fuel oil out of turkey guts. I hear there is one in Arkansas working on producing it out of chicken processing waste. I don't like to see Gov interfere with any private business as that is Socialism or facism but they could help promote bio-fuels by giving breaks to station owners willing to set-up a pump. I have to drive 50 miles just to find a B5 pump. The local station owner claims no one would buy it from him. I asked him how he would know that since nobody in this area sells it at a pump. You can have it delivered to your farm no problem in any ratio you want.

Barry St John

I don't mind the high prices too much. The profit margin is really not obscene and it's those profits that will actually keep us drivin our trucks. If the prices stay low so does the technology and once all the easy oil is pumped you don't have options. The profit margin is what makes it feasable to develope oil shale and oil sand technology not to mention alternate fuels. It also promotes conservation. If the cost of fuel were less you wouldn't see those plants making oil out of turkey guts or chicken waste!!

Lary Ellis (Top)

Great post Barry.... I know NONE of us likes paying the high prices at the pumps, but the simple fact those high prices are making alternatives more profitable. And unless these company's can see a profit in moving toward these alternatives, they won't invest the money in the research for them.

We are in a Catch 22 situation, it takes the high prices to drive the industry to look at other methods and that requires money. That money will come from the profits and the investors who jump on board because the oil companies are showing great profits.

Many think that because they are making money with what they have currently, they won't bother looking elsewhere, but that simply isn't true. Big Business moguls know they have to look to the future at all times or else they will get passed up by competition and lose they're share of the market place.

It takes years to develop new technology and production methods, so they are ALWAYS looking in that direction. With higher profits comes the ability to invest more in those programs and in the end all of us will benefit.

Sucks to go to the pumps now, but without those needed funds to explore new methods, it will never happen.

xp8103

I hate it just as much as the next guy. But there are still several immutable facts being ignored.
1. Gas is STILL cheaper now than it was in 1981, adjusting for inflation. Sure there were some pockets of price gouging. But the average price was still below 1981 levels.

2. We've grown WAY too accustomed to cheap gas. The fact is, gas (fuel, whatever) has been artificially cheap for decades. Our economy has long been able to absob MUCH more expensive gas. The current economic indicators have proved that out. Unemployment, inflation, consumer confidence, the stock market, economic growth, etc all still WAY positive. We're 6 years out from the farce that was the late 90's "paper economy" caused by the dot com boom. We're 4 years out from the worst foreign attack on this country. We're fighting a war. We're 6 months out from the worst natural disaster this hemisphere has ever experienced. Any ONE of those things had the potential to throw this country into a depression let alone two of them. But it didn't happen. President Bush has had to deal with more adversity than any President in recent history and he's done it well.
Sure we all hate paying more at the pump. I hate it. But we're still driving. We're still buying. As far as I can see, our driving habits have changed little.

3. There is little direct relationship between the "price" of gas and the "cost" of gas. It has little to do with where the product is refined or how far it has to be shipped. One need only take a cursory look at gas prices around the nation to figure that out.

And for those of you who think that "big oil" is simply gouging it's customers because they are friends with the President and Vice President, keep in mind that Citgo is the state-owned oil company of Venezuela and that mental midget Hugo Chavez and I haven't noticed Citgo stations selling gas cheaper than the Exxon Mobile stations. Irving Oil is a Canadian firm and those wacky Canadian's have made it known that they are no fans of the President but the Irving Stations (who refine their product in Canada and ship it here) aren't charging less than the Texaco stations..... So who's gouging who?

infidel

As I said before, the the way the president and VP are gouging us is by giving billions in subsidies to the oil companies.