Tax breaks (tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars)for the Oil companies,,,
do you really think doing away with these will help us get more domestic oil and gas? Those breaks make it economical to drill wells. Without them, the wells will not meet investment return hurdles and simply won't be drilled. Either the royalty rates/burdens or the costs or the taxes were too high so the project just wasn't pursued. Now, would you rather give XOM a tax break and they invest in a $4 billion LNG plant/project, or they don't get the tax break, they don't do the project and natural gas prices in the US float up to about $12/MCF??
Oil company profits exceeding $42 BILLION US dollars fy2007,,, more money than even the Pharohs of Egypt and no other entity since, have ever earned....
Firts Of all, 42 Billion is just 10% of their worldwide revenue.
Exxon pays taxes at a rate of 41% on its taxable income, That's Over 30 Billion dollars just on that cap, They also pay over 40 cents per gallon of gasoline in taxes and they pay royalties also. One fact that seems lost on many here is that XOM doesn't make all of its money here in the good ol' US of A. And they don't make all of their money selling gasoline. In many countries, XOM produces oil and gas and sells it in raw form. So, a very large part of their income is derived in other sovereign countries. In other words, just one corporation (Exxon Mobil) pays as much in taxes ($30 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers.
Oil companies profiteering on the Iraq war crisis...
Don't be mad at Oil companies for making a profit it's what there supposed to do - many people with 401k and other plans benefit from this. BTW, World goverments are the Big winners here.
An Oil Administration happy to have Oil well over $100 US / bbl prices...
Probably, but what they can do besides the USD manipulation?.. they can't control china or india or russia growth!
where are the sanctions and confiscations of these war profits?
Are you a comunist?, almost every single technology you use today came from the war fields, even the sunglasses. BTW, Irak Is NOT the only factor in this Oil Boom, also the China 12% anual rate growth, India 10% anual rate growth, Brazil 10% anual rate growth, Russia growth, Venezuela turmoil, Nigeria war, a weak USD, etc etc.
The Point is:
1. You are not entitled to anything... cheap gasoline included.
2. The point of setting up a for-profit business is TO MAKE PROFITS.
3. Exxon does not set the price of oil. in Fact, THE BUY OIL FROM STATE OWNED COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD!. so every time the crude Oil goes UP, their operational cost also goes UP!.
4. Exxon's profit margins are 11%, not unreasonable when you compare it to Pfizer, which manages to make 17% on the backs of the sick and dying (who may not have an analogous option to number 4 below).
4. If you are dissatisfied with the price of gasoline, you may, at any time, take a train, ride a bike, walk, or ride the bus. All of these options will reduce your energy costs.
BTW: The NYMEX and ICE exchange are just a drop in a ocean, the OTC market (Over The Counter) is 500 times larger. Nobody can control that, Not even the US goverment.
