Oil is down 12 percent for the week...........I WONDER

[kydonky]

I have a hard time with words so I am going to quote a friend from an aviation forum i frequent...

"You need economics 101, profit margin and total profits are two very different things. You may have noticed oil is a popular product, lots of people buy it and need it.

Profit of 8% or so is constant over any amount, you are just having a little trouble wrapping your mind around the size of the business.

Once you can do without oil, you won't have to worry about how much people sell it for, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

In fact the government takes about 42 cents on every gallon of gas sold and the typical oil company makes about seven cents. Do the math on that." - Jungle

This guy knows his sh*t... I will find the links to all the information that backs this stuff... I was actually in agreement with don that oil companies were to blame til this guy pointed me in the right direction and i did some research... Now I understand how teh government getting involved is just bad.

Why don't you send BP a donation check if they have it so bad.

Geez, think I will send the check I was going to send to the Red Cross for the Alabama disater to Exxon Mobile after reading this.

What you are saying is that he government makes more money on gas sales than all of the oil companies combined???? This would include Exxon, Mobile, Conico, BP, Chevron and scores of others. Each one of the bigger companies report quartarly earnings (In the US) of as much as 500 Billion dollars (for a quarter!!!). Thease earning approch close to the GDP of California, New york, Florida combined.

Sorry I do not buy into the 21 cents to 28 cent profit per gallon.

[GeoFisher]

Why don't you send BP a donation check if they have it so bad.

Geez, think I will send the check I was going to send to the Red Cross for the Alabama disater to Exxon Mobile after reading this.

What you are saying is that he government makes more money on gas sales than all of the oil companies combined???? This would include Exxon, Mobile, Conico, BP, Chevron and scores of others. Each one of the bigger companies report quartarly earnings (In the US) of as much as 500 Billion dollars (for a quarter!!!). Thease earning approch close to the GDP of California, New york, Florida combined.

Sorry I do not buy into the 21 cents to 28 cent profit per gallon.

Show me ONE that posted 500 billion in profits in 1 quarter........just ONE.

Your numbers are inflated by about 100 fold, but I guess posting crap is better than posting facts.......

Here are some facts for ya.....

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/s...mpanies-raked/

AND who gives a rip if you don't believe the 20 - 28 cents profit/gallon.....READ their yearly earnings reports......they TOO are public record.

Later,

Geo

[kydonky]

Show me ONE that posted 500 billion in profits in 1 quarter........just ONE.

Your numbers are inflated by about 100 fold, but I guess posting crap is better than posting facts.......

Here are some facts for ya.....

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/s...mpanies-raked/

AND who gives a rip if you don't believe the 20 - 28 cents profit/gallon.....READ their yearly earnings reports......they TOO are public record.

Later,

Geo

Sorry, typo should be 5 billion. Still a lot of moola.

Anyway the point is that gouging is occurring. Big oil has no conscience. It you remove the tax, oil companies will rasie the price to the level it was at with the tax. Why? because this is what people will pay.

My father used to tell me Business has no Conscience. When you think about it it is true. Donald Trump does not file bankrupcy, his business does.
Heck I just work here
I'm sorry it's just business.
The whole idea of corporation is to remove personal responsibility from actions.
Limited liability company, ever heared that.

Now there are also very very good reasons for corporations. Who would risk all on a venture without some degree protection. Inovation would be stiffled without them.

Sad but true. Government is the conscence of business. Without some regulations and limits we would be in deep stuff from the bottom end.


Last point. We do not need to reduce our dependancy on foreign oil. We need to reduce dependancy on oil period. Saudi oil is the same price as Texas or Tennessee oil. Convert my car to hydrogen, alcohol or any renewable source. In the mean time lets just make a start reducing the dependance on oil.

[GeoFisher]

Sad but true. Government is the conscence of business. Without some regulations and limits we would be in deep stuff from the bottom end.

THAT is the most single laughable thing I've read on this site in a very, VERY long time.

If government had ANY concious, we'd NOT be in the fiscal mess we're IN.

* Who do you suppose SPENT like drunken sailors.

* Who do you suppose CREATED medicare and medicaid.

* Who do you suppose CREATED Welfare......

* Who do you suppose SPENDS money they don't have and NEVER planned on having.

* Who do you suppose GETS us into messes all round the world ( not that some are not justified.......like the current actions).

Yes my friend.......LAUGHABLE.

Later,

Geo

[kydonky]

THAT is the most single laughable thing I've read on this site in a very, VERY long time.

If government had ANY concious, we'd NOT be in the fiscal mess we're IN.

* Who do you suppose SPENT like drunken sailors.

* Who do you suppose CREATED medicare and medicaid.

* Who do you suppose CREATED Welfare......

* Who do you suppose SPENDS money they don't have and NEVER planned on having.

* Who do you suppose GETS us into messes all round the world ( not that some are not justified.......like the current actions).

Yes my friend.......LAUGHABLE.

Later,

Geo

Agree with some of this ^. But.......Medicare and Medicaid are programs that do protect citizens.

I have worked witha lot of children and adults with profound retardation, cerebral palsy. If it were not for medicaid they would not be in our community, The would be in a warehouse under the worst conditions you can imagine and many of them would not be here at all. Same for medicare, a lot fewer seniors around.

So some may think this would be a good thing. I think Hitler sent the mentally retarded to the showers to purge the unpure.

But I do agree with war spending out of control (world police), deficit year after deficit year and look at the national debt now. Medicare and medicaid have driven up health care costs, but the programs are needed. Some health care changes are needed.

Back to big oil. Look how much money goes into blacktop, bridges, roads, traffic lights, stop signs, road stripping, guard rails. All to use the oil companies product. All this infastructure that has been base on a single commodity (oil). No wonder the have so much power now. So they have benifited tremendously on government spending. Let them pay their fair share.

So I'm not necessarily for less government but more responsible govenment.

[Chubminnow]

Agree with some of this ^. But.......Medicare and Medicaid are programs that do protect citizens. I have worked witha lot of children and adults with profound retardation, cerebral palsy. If it were not for medicaid they would not be in our community, So I'm not necessarily for less government but more responsible govenment.

I hear what you're saying....but right now Medicare and medicaid are both under the radar, being looked at, etc....and this WILL change life as we now know it to be.

I'm still kind of thinking Willie Nelson had the right idea several years ago when he wasn't paying his taxes....heck why not screw the government, when all is said and done they're gonna wind up screwing us in the end anyway...no pun intended there fella's

[MrSplitshot]

Why don't you send BP a donation check if they have it so bad.

Geez, think I will send the check I was going to send to the Red Cross for the Alabama disater to Exxon Mobile after reading this.

What you are saying is that he government makes more money on gas sales than all of the oil companies combined???? This would include Exxon, Mobile, Conico, BP, Chevron and scores of others. Each one of the bigger companies report quartarly earnings (In the US) of as much as 500 Billion dollars (for a quarter!!!). Thease earning approch close to the GDP of California, New york, Florida combined.

Sorry I do not buy into the 21 cents to 28 cent profit per gallon.

Nobody said they had it bad. They have it good....real good....and they have us by the gonads.

But don't confuse Gross Profit (Sales-Cost of Goods Sold) with Net Profit (Sales-Cost of Goods Sold-Operating Expenses aka "everything else")

Look at net profit dollars on the bottom line, after all expenses (Sure, there is the standard corporate "fluff" in their expenses that includes ridiculous payroll for management)....

I'll bet you, not even having looked at their statements, that at the end of the day when you compare that net net figure with what the US Government collected in taxes on however many gallons of gasoline that they sold here in that period....the US Government wins....and basically doesn't do a whole lot but but stand there with their hands out to collect.
It's not cheap to find, drill, pump, transport, refine, transport, distribute, and then sell gas to the end user.

Don't forget though, these are global companies....the earnings they report aren't just made by selling here in the U.S. Look at just what is sold here, compared to just what profit is made on what is sold here, compared to what the US Government collects in taxes per gallon.

The US consumes 378 Million Gallons of Gasoline per day.

If the Government collects an average of .40 per gallon, times 378 Million Gallons, times 365 days a year....my calculator doesn't go that far. Don't tell me it's not a HUGE profit center for the US Government!

I don't have the answer, but I know it's not further taxing Big Oil....

You either try to cut Big Oil's nuts off by regulating their industry and squashing free-enterprise...which I'm not sure will work.

Or, you Drill Baby Drill to increase supply, competition, and lower prices...which would work, but only if Big Oil wanted it to work...and "lower prices" won't be on their agenda until we hit the wall and people stop driving/buying. When that happens, market forces alone may drive the price back down. Roller coaster of love...

[stratosjoe]

In fact the government takes about 42 cents on every gallon of gas sold and the typical oil company makes about seven cents. Do the math on that." - Jungle

ok that accounts for .49 where might the the other $3.70 be going?

[MrSplitshot]

In fact the government takes about 42 cents on every gallon of gas sold and the typical oil company makes about seven cents. Do the math on that." - Jungle

ok that accounts for .49 where might the the other $3.70 be going?

Uhm...

Oil discovery, drilling, oil rig expenses, salary of oil rig employees, cost to transport crude to refineries, oil refinery expenses, salaries, power, fuel additives, administrative costs (gotta pay all of the employees, from clerks to receptionists to the CEO), markup to regional/local fuel distributor, cost to get fuel tankers from distributors to the local gas station, and at least 1000 other things I haven't even thought of...

[Hlleonard]

Uhm...

Oil discovery, drilling, oil rig expenses, salary of oil rig employees, cost to transport crude to refineries, oil refinery expenses, salaries, power, fuel additives, administrative costs (gotta pay all of the employees, from clerks to receptionists to the CEO), markup to regional/local fuel distributor, cost to get fuel tankers from distributors to the local gas station, and at least 1000 other things I haven't even thought of...

--
I'm sure these same costs were included in the price of fuel a year ago before the blame was put on strife in the middle east for the increase in oil prices ...Not sure what the price of fuel was a year or so ago before all that but if a barrel of oil was under a hundred dollars at that time then it looks like if the profit margin doesn't increase then fuel should follow the decrease in oil prices,it doesn't quite seem to keep up with the decrease in oil prices the same as it does the increase ...would be interesting to see a fuel price comparison ......fuel prices vs. oil prices over the last couple years...Its tough to believe corporate greed isn't playing a role.

[kydonky]

Uhm...

Oil discovery, drilling, oil rig expenses, salary of oil rig employees, cost to transport crude to refineries, oil refinery expenses, salaries, power, fuel additives, administrative costs (gotta pay all of the employees, from clerks to receptionists to the CEO), markup to regional/local fuel distributor, cost to get fuel tankers from distributors to the local gas station, and at least 1000 other things I haven't even thought of...

Did we mention CEO bonuses, executive bonuses, executive options, executive perks?

The point I was making is that the USA (and many other countries) have invested and built the most expensive infastructure (highway system) ever built all centered on one comodity (oil). Oild has benifited by this investment. Without modern highways oil use would be down, down, down.

There is no government infastructure for pork bellies, metals, ect.

Oil companies do not maintain or build highways. So a tax on oil is needed to maintain bridges, roads, overpasses and yes air quality, ground water and on and on.

Even still it is you and I that are paying this gas tax, not oil companies, its collected at the pump.

So whay not ask oil to help with this infastructure cost? Why not regulate a business that has thrived on government investment?

I cannot walk or drive my mule on interstae 65. If I use I65 I have to be in a gas powered vehicle. Can't even use my moped.

[MrSplitshot]

Did we mention CEO bonuses, executive bonuses, executive options, executive perks?

Yes, I believe I did. LOL The same can be said for any other corporation in any other industry. The CEO's and executives make bank. From a dollars in the bank standpoint, the oil executives are fat and happy. Of course there is greed in the formula! If the "American Way" was a religion, greed would be somewhere in its 10-Commandments. You think the big oil executives are the only greedy ones? Let me tell you what...the greed card is played in this country from the top of the food chain to the bottom. Whether it's a CEO who has 2 jets, a helicopter, a $50 Million mansion, and baby seals swimming in his 6 acre swimming pool....to an upper-middle-class Joe who has to have a much bigger house than he really needs, $50K truck, $30K bass boat, steak dinners out whenever he feels the need, and complains constantly about the greedy oil executives and their lavish lifestyles that make it so hard for him to fill up his truck and boat. (A truck and boat that cost so much because of the greed of the auto maker, car dealership, boat manufacturer, boat dealer, whomever, trying to give their families those same things.) It's all relative, and a great big circle. There are a lot of folks living with a whole lot more than they really need to get by. We're all guilty somewhere. I won't lie - I have a big expensive truck that I don't have to have to get by. I could just as easily operate on a 20 year old 2WD regular cab Ranger. Most Americans are greedy, plain and simple....and we've had the economy/lines of credit over the years to feed that greed. We could all live simple and frugal, keep only what we need to sustain, and give our excess wealth to the hungry and downtrodden around the globe...but we don't do that. We live "The Good Life" by acquiring as much material possessions as we can afford based on maximizing our income level over our lives in the pursuit of what makes us happy. It is what it is! I, for one, am pretty happy that we live in a country where we can do that....even if it's totally screwed up from a priorities, common sense, or environmentally responsible standpoint.

As for the taxation issue...yes, we pay a higher tax at the pump than just your normal "sales tax" like on other goods we buy. Lets not forget that the oil companies are also taxed on their profits too, just like any other. They have some tax breaks, just like other corporations, but they are paying their share of taxes too.

I think when you get into the debate that oil companies should be paying higher taxes than other companies because they effect so many other things in the economy, you're going down a slippery slope. Auto makers effect so many other things too, so what about them? What about corn growers, and dairy farms, and cattle ranches that have an effect on the prices of food that everyone must have? What about timber companies that effect all of the lumber prices that folks must have to build homes? What about, what about, what about....could go on and on. Are we going to regulate them all? Business making profit and being competitive with other businesses is kinda the fundamental pillar of free enterprise. I'm just not a fan of encroaching upon that.

We'd have to all go buy a Prius to force oil companies to lower prices. But then, the demand for the Prius would be so high that Toyota would raise the prices on those suckers through the roof. Then, as soon as the oil companies dropped prices due to much much lower demand, we'd all go trade our Prius back to trucks and suvs because we could afford the gas again...and the circle jerk would continue.

Whomever has the supply that the consumer demands, gets rich. Bottom line!

I wish gas prices were lower. I think we are paying a crazy price. But I really don't know what to do about it that would change anything, aside from finding alternative fuels....but supply and demand would eventually put those alternative fuels in the same price boat, wouldn't it?