Who's getting rich at the gas pump.........

Would be if the taxes increased with the price...

None of your freaking business what other people make, as long as they are doing it legally.

Oil company profits are statistically below many other industries, if that matters at all (which it doesn't).

LINK

Traditionally, oil companies have trailed many other industries in this measure of profitability. As indicated in the graphic, the profit margin of oil and natural gas companies was slightly above that of all industry in the third quarter of 2005. However, the industry's profitability remained below the profit margins of other industries such as banking, financial services, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and computer software.

Making a profit is NOT a crime. Profit is GOOD.

On the other hand, the government is reaping an unearned windfall in taxes. which for some reason you don't address at all.

IF he did, would that be considered "Bush bashing"?

That makes zero sense, no surprise.

The reason Rob doesn't address it is that he is anti-business and doesn't think taxes should ever be reduced.

once the gas stations have taken out their take (a couple cents or so), the oil companies take out 8.5%. Using a $3 gallon of gas, that leaves $2.50 (and that is a low estimate) to go to the crude oil price, government taxes, maintainance and other necessary production costs, and all the additives that the oil copanies are required to include. Getting rid of the necessary production costs and the crude oil price, that leaves taxes and additives as the targets for price adjustment.
Relax the standards on additives or lower taxes (golly gee) and you'll see the price drop nicely.

When businesses don't make money, they tend to lay off workers! Buy oil stock!

Remember, now. All the doom and gloomers are predicting that the money train for these companies will run out any day now

The CEO's retirement package is NONE of the consumer's business. Nor are the profits. You want a steady supply of reliable fuel for your vehicle. These companies provide it.

Durbin at least knows that he is engaing in propaganda. But do you really think a family contributinng $1,000 a year to the profits of an oil company is excessive? What world do you live in? How much are they contributing to the profits of any other company whose products they use?

It may stun you to learn that companies are in business to make profits. Disgraceful, isn't it?

Quoting Durbin is almost like saying in advance,"This is totally bogus..."

may not be excessive if the family is affluent. It's a great deal if the family is living at or below the poverty line . If you spend as much as 6 or 7 percent of your available income on transportation it becomes a big chunk. Add health care, housing, utilities and food... suddenly you find yourself short at the end of the month.

I drive a fairly fuel efficient 4 wheel drive honda cr/v (26 combined city/highway) but suddenly I am paying $200.00 a month from a $130.00.I even cut back on unnecessary trips and and put off chores so that I can combine outings. The extra $70.00 is a strain since I only work part time right now.

I'm not against profits Ed. I think the whole situation is more than just the cost of oil. We have let a multitude of things slide for over 30 years. We all need to cinch up our pants and conserve. Thats pretty hard thing to do when you turn on the news and hear about record profits from oil companies who have let their infrastructure intentionally degrade and suddenly want to pass the cost of upkeep on to us. Consider that Shell has announced it will build the largest and newest refinery on the gulf coast this past week. It has been 25 years since a new refinery has been built in the US. Why is a Dutch owned company the only one proposing new construction right now when Exxon is earning more than it ever has? I think it's because the oil industry is happy to enjoy the profits and enjoy the tax breaks and frankly will do so until forced to change. Same with the auto industry... and on and on.

I understand that you think freeing the market and removing more taxes will solve the need by allowing the companies to provide a needed/wanted service and products to the buyer. That very environment has been put in place over the last 5 years so why is the oil and auto industries acting like they have been caught flat footed? Where was all the capital investment that was supposed to occur? Show me how removing more taxes will encourage the auto/oil synergism to improve itself and thus benefit our whole country rather than just the investors of a few companies.

... how bogus this notion is?

The only amount any consumer can properly be ''credited'' with contributing to is the $0.05-$0.09 per gallon profit on the gallons they buy. The contribution to the government coffers is eclipsed by this many times over.

I figure in the last year I've contributed at most $50 to evil "Big Oil", you about $75, and that's using a high end estimate for the profit margin.

Durbin's propaganda is shameful. That anyone falls for his bogus argument is surprising.

Yeah, sure.

The rest of your post indicates otherwise. "until forced to change"

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS what they make, unless you're a stockholder, which is not a bad idea.

Thats kind of ridiculous to say considering if I'm an investor looking to buy stock then I should be fully informed of the income and expenditures of a prospective stock purchase.

To not be informed would be akin to handing my money to a stranger promising to bring me back $10.00 for every $5.00 I give him! What are the odds I would make a profit on that one?

Basically, your just refusing to answer my question about free market neglect of capital investment by oil companies versus their profit margin... OK, fine. Another case of human nature which resists action until forced to it... an object at rest resists change.

BTW... the $1000.00 is a bit overblown according to the 2 links I posted above in this thread. Did you see those?

... inexcusable since it was short enough!

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS what they make, unless you're a stockholder, which is not a bad idea.

None of your business UNLESS you're a stockholder -- or looking to become one.

And I echo EdH's advice -- it's not a bad idea to be one!

unless I own stock... last time I check my 403b I did own stock.

Thhhhbbb !

bet you still wont answer my concerns though will you.

You flubbed up and can't admit it. If you own their stock it's your business and you should be hoping they make a profit!

What concerns?

No, I was ignoring the noise.

But if you must know, oil companies invest a lot in finding new sources of energy, building and maintaining infrastructure and so forth. And providing their employees with benefits. Why should that diminish their profit margin? COMPANIES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY.

In my post I said it was none of your business unless you are unvesting in oil. Did you miss that?

If you are interested in investing, the oil company may graciously tell you what their profit is, but you do NOT have a right to be nosey about what people make. I doubt too many investors in oil are against the company making a profit, usually the bigger the better. High profits mean only that they are selling more.

You seem not to have no problem with FORCING people to do what you think they should do. That is wrong and immoral.

I saw the links. Actually I posted one of them in the past.

those poor families are REALLY being devastated by the gas taxes..far more than by the paltry amount the oil companies make in profits, right?

And let's be honest, profits are EARNED; taxes are just TAKEN.

of the explanations given to explain gas costs... one that is truly under the control of the oil companies and not an issue of taxes... indeed the oil companies received TAX BREAKS from last years energy bill that was designed to encourage solutions to the problem...

which is that gas prices are high in part to the lack of refining plants and collateral infrastructure.

Go on all you want about Durban's statistics. Thats not what I asked your opinion about. Sheesh... you might have a doctor look at that knee jerk you have there.

2 links re: gas prices you might find interesting...

http://money.howstuffworks.com/gas-price.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060429/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_oil;_ylt=AgrCSTOkLIURXTekUqsulN5v24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

... that you had some sort of home electronics installation business. If the demand for such is such that someone will pay $50 for an hour of that service, did you only charge $15 so that you didn't "profit" needlessly? I doubt it.

Why should the gas companies not profit from their investment? If they can sell their gas at $3.00/gallon, why should they sell it for less?

if you bothered looking at the links I posted you would see that the oil companies make less on their sales per $100.00 than google or yahoo does. They make their profits on the massive consumption of the market. I already said we as a nation needed to tighten our belts.

I specifically asked why the failure to invest in production facilities has occurred over the past 5 years. Why are dutch owned companies taking the leadership in building new infrastructure when US companies are enjoying bigger than ever profits. Why should the domestic companies continue to enjoy the tax breaks of the energy bill which was designed to encourage new capital investment but has not resulted in such. Ed has expressed his belief that an unrestrained free market will supply what we need at a suitable price. My question is, if this is true, shouldn't the industry be in a frenzy of new expansion to anticipate meeting the needs of the market? I don't see that result... I see an industry who is happy to continue to earn massive profits and avoiding investing in the future. Where is that balance the market is supposed to achieve between profit and expansion... between supply and demand. I'm afraid that after all the breaks oil companies have got, their going to rationalize even bigger price jumps when they can't hold off any longer on capital investments. Or am I wrong?

After all, we keep getting told that part of the higher gas costs is lack of production facilities... this isn't going to change unless someone gets off their butts and I don't see domestic companies doing much about it. Do you?

Because the greenies have succeeded in getting so many regulations they can't invest and the NIMBY's don't want them building the new refinery etc. where they live. Because it's not their job to look for alternatives to the product they make. If/when they see competition from another technology, their commodity's price will be reduced and/or they will get into the other market too. Otherwise, what's in it for them? The ones that are investing in alternatives are doing it because the government is bribing them with tax breaks, etc. The anti-Oil people think that by eliminating those breaks, the oil companies will foot the bill for this out of profits? Dream on! Clearly the oil companies don't believe the Chicken Little predictions that we'll run out of oil anytime soon.

Now answer my question please. If the market will bear a $50 charge for a service, will you only charge $15 so as to limit your profit? Will you invest some of your profit in an alternate technology from the service you provide?

It's like this myth about the auto manufacturers who supposedly are involved in some nefarious plot to keep mileage low. Everyone would drive a hybrid if the hype is to be believed if only they were available. Already as more hybrids enter the market, more are sitting on car lots collecting dust despite the tax credits, etc. People buy cars that fit their needs. No rocket science involved.

However I did factor in the cost of common installation materials as part of the hourly charge. Specialty parts were extra but not the most common cables and wires used everyday. I set aside a portion to account for various tools I needed or was budgeting for future use. And of course I set aside a portion for payment of quarterly taxes to the state and fed along with insurance and bonding.

I anticipated future business costs and capital investments. There was no one from the state or fed trying to subsidize me to keep my equipment up to current standards and I never lobbied to get any special breaks.

My prices were competitive and was far cheaper than the standard installation services offered by the local Sears, Best Buy, Circuit City etc. I had more word of mouth business than I could handle (never had to advertise) and was considering hiring help. I undercut the local market price and still covered future costs... Until I got hurt

People keep saying I'm anti-Oil when all I'm really asking for is more expansive details of the same old explanations the press are currently feeding the public. I've been told in this thread that I have no right to question prices. I think that is the most asinine statement ever. If you buy anything from an expensive TV to a car you don't question the price? Evie, you mentioned a while back that anyone who didn't read the fine print of a loan agreement deserved anything they got. Now you say I can't ask for the fine print when I fill up at the gas station?

I conserve as much as I can but $6 to $10 dollars spent to get to work and school everyday is unavoidable. Less than 2 years ago it would have cost me $3.50 to $7.00. With no competition between oil companies and little more between individual gas stations I darn well want to know for sure I'm getting the best deal for my money.

I buy gasoline and other oil products out of necessity. I wait and combine trips and I recycle aluminum, glass, and plastic (did you know it takes the equivalent of half a soda can of gasoline in energy costs to make an aluminum can from ore dug from the ground - recycle one can and you save that much energy).

And yes... through several retirement and mutual funds I do own stock in oil companies... exxon mobile in one and BP in another but these are just 2 of many combined stocks in these funds. Ironically my family owns several hundred acres of mineral rights with producing oil wells on the land which are maintained by local small oil companies who resell the product. We get a fraction of the $70 something per barrel that current market prices are quoted at.

"Greenies" stop capital investment? Doesn't seem to be stopping Shell Oil from building the biggest refinery in the US now does it. Hybrids collecting dust? I've seen more new hybrids with temp plates in the past month than I've seen in the past 2 years.

I've seen you vehemently argue that folks need to take personal responsibility when it comes to social issues. Yet you went through mental gymnastics to justify the oil industries avoidance of building the facilities they themselves say they so sorely need... up to supporting Ed's premiss that it wasn't any of my business to even ask questions. All I can say is you kill me!