justcampin

Business Week says"There is no gas shortage"
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyl...e+with+readers

eric13

But my point is 40 billion is still 40 billion,yes they have to pay alot of taxes but again profit is profit which is still a record for them. Also in one of the previous posts someone posted exxons financial statements back to 2003. In 2003 they made a net profit of 11 billion dollars four years later they more than triple their profits. Something just doesnt seem right about that. I hope something gives.

johnh

maybe they tripled their sales?

03qclb5spd

I'd like to know who spends just $4 a month on their gas/fuel bills.

Everyone always draws comparisons with fuel being so "cheap" compared to things like "cholesterol med bill" and gallons of milk, or other products bought by the gallon. However, I saw a peak of about 500+ bucks a month last year for fuel, and I would take a $200 dollar a month med bill over 500+ fuel bill every moment of my life. And for those that like to use milk vs. fuel, most of us don't need 20-30+ gallons of milk per week so that's that gayest comparison I've ever heard humans draw.

It's pretty obvious there is corruption, IMO. I don't care what they say.....gas and fuel prices shot up a tremendous percentage in about 5 years, more than they did in 10 years prior to that and I remember pretty far back watching my parents fill up the cars and the prices they paid.

xtoyz17

What bothers me worse than fuel prices is the tax on fuel. We're taxed in percentages and as long as prices go up so does the governments revenue from taxes.

My issue? The government is getting record amounts of money and STILL complaining about how we need more taxes for this or for that...

I don't smoke, but the cigarette's got taxed another 1.50 around here. NY has higher taxes than almost any state, yet they're trying to squeeze new yorkers even harder by pushing for taxes on all internet sales if you live in NY.

I think I pay more towards tax then I do any other single thing, and all I ever hear is deficit this deficit that and we need more money.



That's a little too political for this site though. Just thought I'd point it out anyways.

Good luck taxing me on WVO soon though

eric13

Very good point about the comparisons. I was thinking that the other day when someone said that on another site. I know I dont buy 30 gallons of milk a week. I think the price of alot of things is effected by the price of fuel today including milk. It costs the dairies extra money to get their product out to the public because of high fuel prices.

taildragger

When I worked at one of the large companies it was a general sentiment in the company that the higher they can drive prices the better (we were mad that we could have hedged NG at $10 and got greedy instead....)

So, I don't buy the BS that they spew to the public about how high prices hurt them and how they aren't having anything to do with the high price. They do to an extent, and most of us are willing to pay them. Just think of how many people you still see on hwys driving at 80mph instead of 55mph.

Sheeple are pretty stupid

chipmonk

i've seen this posted before- the taxes we pay on fuel are per gallon, both state and federal. the per gallon fuel tax rate does not increase with the price of fuel.

kawi600

I have no problems with anyone making money, it is part of capitalism. What I do have a problem with is the lack of competition in certain segments of the free market, like oil. Maybe its just the nature of the business that only the extremely large can thrive, but it certainly is bad for the consumer when competition is stifled no matter how its done.
Eventually the free market will give us a solution to these prices. We just need to make sure govt. regulators dont get in there first and make things even worse than they already are.
Any new taxes or lower tax breaks for this industry will obviously fall onto the consumer in the end.

Another thing that concerns me is the ownership of energy sources and the impact on individual freedom. freedom to travel, to communicate and to work beyond the means of your own hands.
I would like to see an energy solution that puts more of the ownership of energy sources nearer to the people where it cant be used to control them.
If your town could grow its own algae and refine it into biodiesel, for example, that would give you more freedom and more control over your own energy.
restricting who can use energy and how much of it treads on dangerous ground. such policies could have a profound effect on individual freedom.
That is being done with financial pressure and political pressure via the global warming folks.

HOHN

Clearly I wasn't saying the total bill is only $4

"Obvious corruption." Well, gee-- we need you in the US attorneys office! Go get 'em! I'm sure you could indict the 64,873 people involved in this global conspiracy to deprive you of your constititutional right to fossil fuels at a price you accept.

There are those who understand economics, then there are those who only see "obvious corruption."

The people who are yelping the loudest are those who are in occupations where they drive a lot or professionally. Sure it hurts. But there are other jobs out there.

I didn't like my previous career so I changed. That means a sucky transition, being broke, and going without a lot of the things I want. That's life.

I suppose I could have stayed in my last job and complained about the things I didn't like about it and lamented the global conspiracy to keep me unhappy

HOHN

Your concerns about the ownership of energy on freedom are well-founded, IMO. Many of the largest energy reserves are owned by those who do not have Western values and don't think too much of liberty or freedom.

The oil business like some other businesses has a very high "barrier to entry"-- which is economicspeak for how hard it is to get into a business. An example of the opposite would be soft drinks-- anyone can whip up soft drink at home and start selling it locally.

But you aren't going to see people bolting together multi-billion dollar oil rigs in their garage. The high cost of entering the market severely limits competition. That's why we don't have 20 different aircraft manufacturers in this country, nor 50 different major car companies.

Some countries have taken the approach that oil as a "utility" of sorts and hence the gov't should own it. So many countries have State-owned oil companies.

The problem is that these state-run oil companies also serve as ways for otherwise broke countries to make serious money.

For example, the State-run oil company of Russia is making TONS of money. But unlike the evil private oil companies like BP/Amoco Chevron/Texaco, the state-run oil companies aren't putting a penny of those profits back into R&D. Instead of making oil production more efficient or economical, these state-run oil companies are dumping truckloads of cash into the coffers of corrupt governments, giving the powerful more money to suppress the poor.

THIS is also a key factor of why crude oil prices or so high. The State-run oil companies (like in Russia) not only reduce the efficiency of global oil production, the INTENTIONALLY restrict supply to keep the price high. Most of these State-run companies export the vast majority of their products because they exist in countries that are poor and have relatively little demand for fossil fuels.

So what's going on is a way for certain countries to enrich themselves to not only reduce the influence and power of their American rivals, but also to increase the power they have over their own people.

Russia has intentionally BANNED Chevron and BP from coming into their country to increase the efficiency of their oil production. The Russian gov't is afraid that if they increase efficiency, then the price of oil will fall.

That's partly why I am glad that the big three oil companies are making so much money. First, they can afford to invest in the research that will benefit us all in the future by making oil extraction and production more efficient. Second, they will grow enough to dominate the world market and obliterate their state-run competitors in certain markets.

I'd much rather be at the mercy of a public owned, Western-based oil corporation than one that is owned by a country that is hostile to the US. The large oil corporation MUST be friendly to the US because we are their biggest source of income. They need us to be hooked on oil as badly as we need it-- so they can't let it get too expensive or they will put themselves out of business as we flee oil for something cheaper.

Meanwhile, a state-run company in a hostile country doesn't have a profit motive per se-- they just want to hurt the US and use oil to do it. They don't care if they go out of business if they can take us down.


But I know that all my words will fall on deaf ears as it's so much easier to whine, complain, and accuse than it is to understand and problem solve.

austin1972

'Ol Jed disagrees!

patdaly

That State tax would vary where you live. We get hit with both a state per gallon tax AND a sales tax, so clearly the tax $$ goes up when they sell it for more.

Couple of good explanations about the various states.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/st...tate_2002.html

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

No wonder our Governor never says a word about fuel prices!

chipmonk

that's rediculous! i had always thought that state fuel taxes were just like the federal taxes- strictly per gallon, and that's it. i had no clue that some states threw in all that other crap.

xtoyz17

Yep. I started to type that up earlier, but got lazy and had to go run errands with the GF.

Last time I filled up my fuel tank (500 gallon tank) it had a breakdown of all the taxes on the fuel. For a tank that I got billed roughly 3.45 per gallon on, the base price of the fuel was somewheres in the neighborhood of 2.20 per gallon I think.