Exxon's Record Profit

[ZZebes]

Well exxon reported a record annual profit of 34.5 BILLION DOLLARS Good god, i can see how the price of oil is hurting them. i reall feel that that is price gouging when an oil company says "our costs go up so yours do to" but it is not an exponintial format for the love of god $34,500,000,000 so lets say drop gas prices adn they still make 20 billion and people can afford gas. this pisses me off so bad its not even funny.

 

[mmmikkke]

Yeah it pisses you off because you choose to ignore the realities of the petroleum market.

 

You choose to ignore that many of Exxon-Mobil's profit dollars come from assets that they own, oil and gas wells, that are producing oil and gas at the same rate as always, but whose daily earnings have doubled or tripled (in inflation adjusted dollars) since the early '90's because of the rising world price for oil.

 

You choose to ignore that the oil business, like all businesses, operate in a competitive world market where scarcity (caused by political turmoil) and competition (from china and india) drive up prices.

 

You seem to romanticize about how Exxon-Mobil's prices should be controlled by the government, so you can have your cake (low prices) and eat it too (lots of supplies despite china and india increasingly competing for world oil supplies).

 

The truth is, if it weren't for this evil free market, you would probably find yourself in waiting in line for restricted quantity purchases of cheaper gasoline. But you'd probably like that, because at least then, you'd have spread your ill-informed misery onto others.

 

There's nothing noble about that. Nothing to put you up on your high horse.

 

Look, we're all in this together. Instead of hating your neighbors in the oil and gas industry, try to make an honest effort to understand them and the business they are in.

[Schmids5.3l]

Supply and demand brotha Well, a lot more of demand. I dont bother researching into this stuff, because I dont care. We have gas, Im thankfull for that. It's reasonably priced, Id rather travel 17 miles for $2.25 than walk 17 miles in a few hours. I do realize gas could sell for 1.80 a gallon and the corps would still make ass loads of money, and thats quite angering...but what can you do! We just gotta live with it, its not gonna change. I just wish it would stay at the price it is now all year round I'd be a happy SOB!

[Elwood 2000]

Maybe try investing in Exxon??

[ZZebes]

i understand the logistics involved and trust me i firmly believe in and love the free-market economy we live in. all i was doing is venting a little at the fact that i am spending almost $500 a month in gasoline. it frustrates me and sometimes i vent. i understand it is a way of life nowdays but none the less it is frustrating.

[Lancer033]

Typical left-wing class-warfare BS

 

the last time the gov't was investigating the oil companies I remember seeing that the Oil company actually made $0.09 per gallon in profit while the gov't made ~$0.40 per gallon. They also operate on razor thin profit margins. For example, if I invested $100 and after a year, it was worth $150, I'd be pretty happy for the $50 that I made. On the other hand, If I invested $10,000 and after a year, it was only worth $10,050 I'd be really pissed.

 

Despite whatever BS you believe in, businesses exist for 1 reason...profit. Exxon just happens to be doing a d**n good job.

[HyperBuzzin]

I can kinda deal with the prices of gas. Yeah, I'd like it to be cheaper, who wouldn't?!

What gets me more upset is that the auto manufacturers, with the prices they are charging, don't have more reliable vehicles. No one can say anything that convinces me that just about every vehicle out there isn't engineered and designed to only last a short time compared to what they could last.

 

Compare the price of gas to the price of a cup of coffee from Starbucks where a gallon of coffee is probably more than $10 !!

Am I missing something here, or does it take more refining to make coffee than it does gas ?!

Luckily, I can't stand coffee. Even the smell of it is disgusting to me.

[Guest chevydeerhunter]

Typical left-wing class-warfare BS

 

the last time the gov't was investigating the oil companies I remember seeing that the Oil company actually made $0.09 per gallon in profit while the gov't made ~$0.40 per gallon. They also operate on razor thin profit margins. For example, if I invested $100 and after a year, it was worth $150, I'd be pretty happy for the $50 that I made. On the other hand, If I invested $10,000 and after a year, it was only worth $10,050 I'd be really pissed.

 

Despite whatever BS you believe in, businesses exist for 1 reason...profit. Exxon just happens to be doing a d**n good job.

 

The press is really good at doing that. Not to make it a political thread, but they're the reason the dems are in power now and it's the reason I find it hard to believe anything I read or see on the news.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Hmmm, wonder why they aren't developing new forms of fuel?

[ridgekid]

Well if you all would boycott them, it would help. For example, Citgo is changing thier name to Petro Express. Why? Because most people are boycotting them. They are losing money. The name change is not going to help them. I'm still boycotting them.

 

Exxon has not been a favorite of mine since Valdez. Now with the reports of record profits I'm more pissed. How do I react? I don't buy thier gas.

 

Hey, I feel better!

[SoCalChris]

Maybe they can find it in their hearts to take a small portion of their profits, and pay for the punitive damages from the Valdez spill that they never paid for (And are still fighting over in court).

[SilveradoLAX7]

Well...that's a product of a free market economy. Obviously they are doing something right. Would I prefer lower costs for me and less profit for big oil? Sure. But I'm not going to get mad at them for being successful. Posts above suggested two viable options of boycotting a brand you dislike, or investing in a massively profitable company.

Last Friday Hillary introduced an initiative that would garnish profits of big oil for a strategic development fund for alternative fuels. While I’m not thrilled about their profits, I HATE this idea of stealing profits. The reason being, what If the price of grain or beef went up and farmers and ranchers made big profits? Would every farmer in Middle America have his or her profits garnished? Where would you have it stop? Oil is a finite resource. We are working to lessen our dependence on it. These guys won't make $ hand over fist forever. The marketplace will force companies to produce vehicles that are more efficient. It has also forced them to come up with viable options for alternative fuels. Case in point…could you have imagined a pickup truck ten years ago that got 22 mpg and put out over 300 horses?

 

that was longer than i meant it to be...sorry

 

-Jay