Hillary says "I want to take those profits"

[ScreamingEagle]

...like the thieving Socialist she is. What right does she have to take a company's profits?

Exxon posts mammoth profits

The news out of US-based Exxon Mobile is huge. Last year's $39.5-billion profit comes at a time when oil prices are moving higher. An issue that could prove to be politically difficult for the powerful company.

But the company does have its supporters. "There is nothing wrong with making a profit," says senior energy analyst Oppenheimer Fadel Gheit. "Exxon is run for its shareholders and its customers, so obviously they are very good citizens. I don't see any reason as to why we should worry about Exxon profits. Politically however, some politicians might obviously take a stab at Exxon, but the fact of the matter is that they have been trying for the last 20 years and unsuccessfully to nail Exxon as a factor in higher gasoline prices in the pump or higher oil prices in general."

The issue is that the company is rolling over massive profits at a time when consumers are paying higher pump and electricity prices.

Says Maria Hormata, a New York cab driver, "We feel frustrated because they promised to lower the gas, right? We feel frustrated, I feel frustrated."

The politicians are frustrated too, as they try to roll back tax breaks and make companies pay more for drilling rights.

http://www.timesnow.tv/Exxon_posts_mammoth_profits_/articleshow/1556386.cms

Exxon's 'outlandish' earnings spark furor
With UN poised to blame global warming on fossil fuels, firm posts $40-billion profit
SHAWN MCCARTHY

From Friday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — The world's largest publicly owned oil company announced yesterday the largest corporate profit ever, but news of its near $40-billion (U.S.) windfall in 2006 sparked an angry backlash, coming on the eve of a major report blaming the use of fossil fuels for wreaking devastation on the planet.

Exxon Mobil Corp. was accused yesterday of using some of those unprecedented profits to fund a campaign to create skepticism about the impact of climate change and opposition to policies that would reduce the use of gasoline and other oil products.

U.S. Democrats, who now control Congress, slammed the record profits as "outlandish," and vowed to raise taxes against Exxon and other oil companies in order to fund alternative fuels and technologies to increase energy efficiency.

The Irving, Tex.-base company, which sparked a similar row with a record profit the year before, was clearly prepared for the onslaught from its critics.

In a full-page ad that ran in The New York Times and other major U.S. newspapers yesterday, Exxon said that it reinvests its profits to supply growing energy demand, which it said will climb by 40 per cent by 2030.

Exxon wasn't alone in unprecedented oil earnings. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, an Anglo-Dutch company, and U.S.-run Marathon Oil and Valero Energy, also posted best-ever annual results yesterday. And ConocoPhillips Co., also American, last week posted its highest profits. Profits at the five companies together totalled $91.1-billion -- in a year when drivers paid record prices for gasoline.

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, took direct aim yesterday at the oil companies' gains.

"Instead of lining the pockets of big oil, we need a new direction in energy policy that rewards innovation, creates jobs and reduces our dependence on foreign oil," she said in a statement.

She called for the elimination of "oil company tax breaks," with the additional revenue going to fund biofuels and other clean-energy technologies.

Democratic Congressman Ed Markey, a member of the House of Representatives energy committee, called the record profits "outlandish," saying they came "at the expense of the driving public." He vowed to push for an end to tax incentives passed by the Bush administration aimed at encouraging companies to explore and produce more oil in the United States.

Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have also urged Exxon to end its funding of organizations that deny the existence of -- or minimize the seriousness of -- human-made global warming.
cont.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070202.wxexxon02/BNStory/Business/home

 

[Roopull]

I can't say I was surprised when I heard this, but it still makes me irate...

Why does this sound JUST LIKE WHAT CHAVEZ IS DOING?!!!???!!!


I've said it before & I'll say it again... this woman is a megalomaniac socialist. She is her own worst enemy.

 

[Annie]

I can't say I was surprised when I heard this, but it still makes me irate...

Why does this sound JUST LIKE WHAT CHAVEZ IS DOING?!!!???!!!


I've said it before & I'll say it again... this woman is a megalomaniac socialist. She is her own worst enemy.

That is my 'Post of the day'!

 

[red states rule]

To Hillary, it is not the oil companies - it is her's

Now shut up and fork it over!

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

If government research ever uncovers a workable alternative to gasoline or diesel, I'll eat my freaking shoe. And I'll post pictures of my dinner here on the forums. The Department of Energy was created to find new energy sources in the 70's, and nothing has come of it. People who think that the private sector isn't pouring money into vastly improved solar, wind, batteries, etc. are completely wrong.

The reason for the increase in gas prices is basically two things: A) Tons of new demand in India and China (note the prices of metals) and B) government policy (war, inflation). When demand outstrips supply, the only real way to encourage conservation is by raising prices, which raises profits. Fortunately these big profits also attract more exploration and more research into alternatives, by companies that want a piece of Exxon's profits.

 

[Eightball]

Never thought I'd say this, but Adolph Hitler even had more smartz than this lady.

With all his power, he never once threatened to take over Krup Munitions of Germany, Folker, Junkers, BMW, Daimler Benz, Heinkel, Folkwulf, Porsche, Audii, etc.. He didn't want to bite the hand that fed him and his regime.

The analogy isn't a perfect fit, but does fall apart a bit, I know, but Hillary is talking like a pure Marxist.

Do these big profits bother me? Yes they do. I would like to see Exxon put a lot of that money into stateside energy development...i.e. exploration, and hardcore lobbying efforts against the folks opposed to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I don't mean using the money to bribe global warming scientists into shutting-up, but use the money to promote what their company does; develop, and provide fossil fuel based energy for the masses.

I'm the masses, and I really resent paying $2.89/gallon for diesel in the San Jose, Ca. when the price of a barrel of crude is hovering around $52.00/a barrel.

Yes, Exxon has the right to get as much profit as they can squeeze, but am I, Mr. average, middle class American, being bopped in the head by a monopoly of sorts? Seems that all the brands of fuel or stations are selling at pretty close to the same price. Why isn't there a little bit of a price war going on like there was back 30 or more years ago?

Why are the fuel prices actually going up right now. Is it because we have a shortage, or what? I don't see lines at the gas stations. The barrel price is lower than it's been in over a year, yet the pump prices reflect a previous barrel price closer to a $70.00+ per barrel?

I totally agree with the libertarian concept that we must becareful to not mess with the right to make a legal "buck". I'm not a conspiracist of any degree, usually, but this fuel pump price is not computing with the current and ongoing barrel price. We, the consumer are being squeezed, and we don't have some other source for buying fuel that's more competitively priced to force some competition. The price variance between brands is next to nil. Something stinks here, and I do feel that some kind of governmental oversight needs to be hinted at to put a little "scare" into these oil corporations. I know you anti-gov folks will quiver at my suggestion, but in times like these, me, Mr. average, middle class guy needs an advocate when I stick my visa card into the gas pump.

In some ways, this is reminiscent of the effects of a Monopoly.......even though we have an Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron, Arco......etc.. We don't have an AT&T type monopoly, but have several fuel companies, yet they are selling or offering/selling their product to the American consumer in a way that screams, "monopoly!". There's no competition. I realize that a big hunk of our pump price is taxes, but since last year and when the barrel price was this low previously, the fuel taxes have not risen at all or appreciably to justify the current prices. We are just helpless sheeple who just need energy to go to work and home, and maybe a little recreation if they will allow us.

Isn't the very definition of a monopoly, when the consumer has no allternative but to purchase from one source, one brand, with the stifling of competition to the detriment of the consumer? We are not talking about a proprietary product with a special patent here. Are we?

I may be conservative, but I've got brains enough to know that fuel prices affect Americans in different ways. The wealthy won't buy that $30 million ocean cruiser this year, but will have to buy the $20 million one. The middle class guy or gal, will have to car pool more, buy a surloin instead of a t-bone, maybe a cheaper bottle of wine too(lol), if it's possible, cut back on some family expenses, and maybe even hesitate about buying those plane tickets for that long awaited trip too. The lower middle class to poor as defined in the our Western society, will possibly not be able to drive that car to work, or will not have enough money to insure their vehicle, or register it. They maynot be able to make that medical insurance premium either. They will need to concentrate on feeding their family, paying the rent, yet they will be squeezed at the pump so hard that getting to work will even be harder. No work, no $$$.

Ok.....I'm not a crying liberal, but I do see this scenario objectively, I believe. Sometimes us Conservatives, and Libertarians in the name of freedom do get a little "hard necked" about how some other folks around us are fairing. I'm not talking about those who are welfare cheats, or those who work the welfare "teats". They should get their collective butts in gear and work.

I'm talking about those who do work hard, but aren't blessed with high paying jobs......maybe because of a lack of previous education or things they didn't do earlier in life......etc. The poor will always be around us. Even Jesus said that. Some are poor by their own choice, but many are "proud" in the vain that they are still trying to survive. These poor have ethics like you and me. They want to survive, and they want to do it honestly. They don't want to be called victims, but they would like a fair "shake", not unlike my immigrant Swedish grandparents on both sides who came through Ellis Island in the late 1800's. So many came to our country at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century from Europe. They didn't want handouts, they just wanted freedom to start over, and assimmilate their progeny into the new culture and reap some benefits of working hard.

I don't like using the word, "Big Oil", but again, fuel is a strategic commodity for a nation as a whole. I don't want to stop these companies from making a decent buck, and being rewarded for their expertise, engenuity, and hard work in their field of endeavor, but they are dealing in a commodity that makes or breaks a nation's back. It is not unlike our power grid. I can't buy my electricity from anyone but Pacific Gas and Electric co. out here in Silicon Valley. Now if I have tons of money, sure, I can build my own power plant and provide myself with my own power and even sell it to P.G. & E., but that's ludicrous for most of all Californians. We are at the Mercy of either P.G. & E. or Southern California Edison, if you live in the Southern part of the state.

They are utilities.........they are regulated..........yet they do make a profit, and they do make enough to perpetuate their entity, and pay their stock holders some good steady profits.

Oil companies presently are artificially, holding the price higher than they need too, because they want to make more profit. Makes sense from their stand-point, but their product isn't too far from being similar to what a utility provides. 99% of us Americans cannot build a Bio Diesel refinery in our tract home backyards, nor can we drill for oil there either, as our mineral rights are almost never owned by home owners in the urban areas.
****
Ok, this was a mish-mash of eighballs thoughts......It may not seem like I
'm a purist conservative with my diatribe above, but I don't care. I think about people. I think about humanity a lot. I want everyone who works decently and hard to have some kind of decency of life. I'm not promoting utopian Marxism, just some fairness when it comes to the those that provide the basic essentials(and are the only source for that essential) to the populuous. That's all.

I do not agree with Hillary's approach even 1%, as she just promotes disdain and hatred for capitalist entities.........or a type of class warfare mentality, that isn't right in my book. These types of liberals are not humanitarians at all. It's all power and politics........Anyting will be said to get or garner a vote. In fact Hillary's last spout, just shows how much she falls back on those old talking points about the big mean old rich and us poor old others. If that gal makes president, maybe it will finally be time for a mass exodus from this country, but going to Canada isn't an upgrade is it? Oh, God, we're stuck. We can't threaten or actually run-off to a more politically agreeable country like the Liberals did/or wanted to when GWB won. We have nowhere to go. lol

 

[90K]

If government research ever uncovers a workable alternative to gasoline or diesel, I'll eat my freaking shoe. And I'll post pictures of my dinner here on the forums. The Department of Energy was created to find new energy sources in the 70's, and nothing has come of it. People who think that the private sector isn't pouring money into vastly improved solar, wind, batteries, etc. are completely wrong.

The reason for the increase in gas prices is basically two things: A) Tons of new demand in India and China (note the prices of metals) and B) government policy (war, inflation). When demand outstrips supply, the only real way to encourage conservation is by raising prices, which raises profits. Fortunately these big profits also attract more exploration and more research into alternatives, by companies that want a piece of Exxon's profits.

Bravo
True economist here.
But still Hitlery needs to shut up and focus on either ensuring new alternatives to our petrol demands and enforce these new alternatives and stop making excuses on why these new alternatives can't be created or further development done. If that nasty hag could pull that off she'd save the day... She might not be able to fix healthcare but we'd all be able to keep our gas hogs!

 

[theHawk]

Eightball it might be your state taxes.
Regular is down to $1.92 here in San Antonio. Still too high though I agree.

 

[glockmail]

I can't say I was surprised when I heard this, but it still makes me irate...

Why does this sound JUST LIKE WHAT CHAVEZ IS DOING?!!!???!!!


I've said it before & I'll say it again... this woman is a megalomaniac socialist. She is her own worst enemy.

Except she's also going to be our next worst Prez....

Buy gold and guns now, boys and girls.

 

[Eightball]

Eightball it might be your state taxes.
Regular is down to $1.92 here in San Antonio. Still too high though I agree.

The only thing is that when the barrel price was at this level last time about a year or so ago, the price fuel at the pump was much lower.

That "stinks" of collaborative stuff in my book. Apparently the retailers aren't warring, so my next instinct is to assume that the refiners are artificially holding the prices to the retailers higher than the last time the barrel prices was at this level.

So it's squeeze us for a few more drops of blood out of the perverbial "onion" until the economy starts grinding to a hault..........then the prices ease up, but by that time we're all mortgaging our houses to the hilt, or eating Dog food for friday night gormet time.

 

[manu1959]

you know hillary and bill and jf ketchup and ed the shinney pony and teddy the drunk all have too much money....way more than me....i think they should give it to me