Oil company profits in perspective


Who is REALLY profiting?
I'm a little pressed for time this morning, but I wanted to get at least one entry in. More this afternoon I promise.

There are two points I want to make about the "excessive oil company" profits. While the"total" profits may be about $15 billion dollars among three companies, no one is talking about the state and Federal taxes generated by those profits.

Just to give you an idea, US oil company profits in 2004 were 42.6 billion dollars.

The taxes on that were 58.4 billion dollars.

Second, the profit margin for oil companies is in the midrange. Microsoft has a 28% average profit margin for the last five years, Marriott has a 4.6% average profit margin. American Express is 11.3%. Exxon shapes up at 9.3%.

Now, if government the possesses the right and power to decide what is "excessive" for profits, there is nothing in principal preventing them from deciding what is excessive for salaries.

Remember this is the same group who dithered about the New Orleans levees.

This is the same group that thinks a minimum wage for Anchorage should be the same as it is Kanab, Utah.

This is the same group that can't decide if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable.

This is the same group that can't get the Department of Homeland Security to work.

This is the same group who has mismanaged the National Parks for decades.

This is the same group that screwed up Social Security so the chances of anyone under 45 seeing the same amount they put into it is nil.

This is the same group whose idea of free speech is to shut you up by force.

This is the same group whose growing involvement in public education has resulted in a steady decline of education.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Do you really trust government to set your salary?

Government is not your friend.

And they will take any chance they can to steal your money.

So why turn over the purse to them?

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - April 28, 2006 at 08:54 AM  Tag


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