Exxon posts second highest profit ever

2

Comments

  • surferdude
    surferdude Posts: 2,057
    inmytree wrote:
    listen, if those who support the oil companies are happy with paying 3 bucks a gallon at the pump, that's super duper...
    And for those of you not happy with paying $3.00 a gallon, buy your own oil fields, refineries and distribution system and start selling it for cheaper.

    Why would you ever want the government to step in and do what you are just too lazy and risk averse to do for yourself?
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • surferdude
    surferdude Posts: 2,057
    LeftThePorch315 wrote:
    So, surferdude, let me ask you... when you hear Mike McCready tearing out the National Anthem on his guitar...do you really think about logical numbers and business theories? Or do you think about blood being spilled in Iraq?
    I usually alternate between thinking "Damn that boy can play." and "I'm so fuckin' lucky to be here."
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    surferdude wrote:
    And for those of you not happy with paying $3.00 a gallon, buy your own oil fields, refineries and distribution system and start selling it for cheaper.

    Why would you ever want the government to step in and do what you are just too lazy and risk averse to do for yourself?

    Because only through the use of the state do they have the ability to force someone to do it for them at the point of a gun.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    the war was about oil amongst other things like war profiteering ... look at the profits of these companies who have such close ties to this administration ...

    we are several years into this war now ... much of the facts are out ... nothing - absolutely nothing points to any moral justification ... you can't increase pentagon spending without instability and threat and you cannot charge $70 a barrel unless supply is threatened ...

    look at all the other favourable policies by this administration that favour big oil ... from enviro deregulation to the non effort on climate change ...
  • sourdough
    sourdough Posts: 579
    farfromglorified wrote:
    If the Iraq war is about oil, then the American revolution was about tea.

    I admit it was a simplistic explanation, but a valid one. What in your opinion is this war being fought for?
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    sourdough wrote:
    I admit it was a simplistic explanation, but a valid one. What in your opinion is this war being fought for?

    Fear. Blind, idiotic fear.

    Look...when this war started the "No Blood For Oil" crowd was running around saying that the war was about lowering the price of oil to $10/g so that we could all pay $.50 for gas. Now that they're seeing how wrong they were they're all running around saying that the war was found to send oil up to $70/g so that the oil execs could get rich.

    Oil certainly plays a role in this conflict. But it ain't the reason. We all would have been better off with "No Blood for Fear" t-shirts.
  • inmytree
    inmytree Posts: 4,741
    surferdude wrote:
    And for those of you not happy with paying $3.00 a gallon, buy your own oil fields, refineries and distribution system and start selling it for cheaper.

    Why would you ever want the government to step in and do what you are just too lazy and risk averse to do for yourself?

    so you are happy with paying 3 bucks a gallon...I see...

    I'm unsure where I made mention of gov't intervention...any hoo, as for buying oil fields, I think that's a great idea, I'll start combing the local real estate classifeds...

    I still wonder how easy it would be to life a life "free" of oil...can any one help me out with this one...? oh yeah, one final question, the price of gas...is it due to supply and demand or manipulation of supply...? if it's supply and demand, I would tend to agree with those who side with the 5 major oil companies...if it's manipulation of a product that is the life-blood of the economy of the US, I would have to question that practice....but, hey, that's just me...

    keep paying those prices and be happy about it...:)
  • sourdough
    sourdough Posts: 579
    Honestly, I hate the fact that oil execs are bulging their pockets with profits, but part of me is glad that oil is more expensive. If oil is more expensive than maybe in the long run this may help us kick the oil addiction. More and more people are re-discovering public transit, walking or biking to work. That is a good thing in my mind. SUV sales have crashed and there is a much higher push for fuel efficient cars. These are good side effects.
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    sourdough wrote:
    Honestly, I hate the fact that oil execs are bulging their pockets with profits, but part of me is glad that oil is more expensive. If oil is more expensive than maybe in the long run this may help us kick the oil addiction. More and more people are re-discovering public transit, walking or biking to work. That is a good thing in my mind. SUV sales have crashed and there is a much higher push for fuel efficient cars. These are good side effects.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    This is a person who is slowly realizing why capitalism works.
  • surferdude
    surferdude Posts: 2,057
    "I still wonder how easy it would be to life a life "free" of oil...can any one help me out with this one...?"
    Start by lowering your dependence on oil. If it's less than 20 miles start biking. If you are in any kind of shape you should be able to knock off 20 miles in less than an hour. Take as much public transportation as possible. When you feel you reaaly have no alternative but to drive carpool.

    "oh yeah, one final question, the price of gas...is it due to supply and demand or manipulation of supply...?"
    Does it matter. It's not illegal or unethical to manipulate supply. No more so than it is illegal or unethical for consumers to manipulate demand.

    "if it's manipulation of a product that is the life-blood of the economy of the US, I would have to question that practice...."
    Well if I was the US economy I'd start diversifying my source of energy. Putting all your eggs in on ebasket is just plain stupid.

    "keep paying those prices and be happy about it..."
    Why would I let things I have no control over upset me? Things I have no control over can either make me happy (a nice sunset) or I accept and get on with my life.
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • surferdude
    surferdude Posts: 2,057
    sourdough wrote:
    Honestly, I hate the fact that oil execs are bulging their pockets with profits, but part of me is glad that oil is more expensive. If oil is more expensive than maybe in the long run this may help us kick the oil addiction. More and more people are re-discovering public transit, walking or biking to work. That is a good thing in my mind. SUV sales have crashed and there is a much higher push for fuel efficient cars. These are good side effects.
    There has never been a better opportunity for greener energy sources to ply their goods than now. Let's hope they are up to the challenge.
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • inmytree
    inmytree Posts: 4,741
    surferdude wrote:
    "I still wonder how easy it would be to life a life "free" of oil...can any one help me out with this one...?"
    Start by lowering your dependence on oil. If it's less than 20 miles start biking. If you are in any kind of shape you should be able to knock off 20 miles in less than an hour. Take as much public transportation as possible. When you feel you reaaly have no alternative but to drive carpool.

    "oh yeah, one final question, the price of gas...is it due to supply and demand or manipulation of supply...?"
    Does it matter. It's not illegal or unethical to manipulate supply. No more so than it is illegal or unethical for consumers to manipulate demand.

    "if it's manipulation of a product that is the life-blood of the economy of the US, I would have to question that practice...."
    Well if I was the US economy I'd start diversifying my source of energy. Putting all your eggs in on ebasket is just plain stupid.

    "keep paying those prices and be happy about it..."
    Why would I let things I have no control over upset me? Things I have no control over can either make me happy (a nice sunset) or I accept and get on with my life.


    perhaps you missed my personal change that I'm making, which is pursuing the use of Biodiesel...when it comes to riding a bike, I'm unsure were you live, but the in the town I live in, traffic is dangerous enough in a car...but that's ok...it's my choice to drive rather that die...

    and the putting the eggs into one basket...yes, it's stupid, I agree...but I think lobby moneys and the Energy Policy Task Force conducted with Cheney may have something to do with that...

    and finally, as for acceptance, I wonder why you can't accept the fact that the cost of gas is an issue for some and that some don't accept the manipulation of prices....of which you say doesn't matter...I guess honesty doesn't matter is business...i.e., supply and command or manipulation...either way, it would be nice to know...

    enjoy you sunset....while you can...
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Look...when this war started the "No Blood For Oil" crowd was running around saying that the war was about lowering the price of oil to $10/g so that we could all pay $.50 for gas. Now that they're seeing how wrong they were they're all running around saying that the war was found to send oil up to $70/g so that the oil execs could get rich.

    Oil certainly plays a role in this conflict. But it ain't the reason. We all would have been better off with "No Blood for Fear" t-shirts.

    i was at those protests ... and i don't recall anyone saying that was the motive ... it doesn't take sherlock to figure out middle east instability will drive up the price of oil ... everyone knew that a war in iraq would drive up the price ...

    edit: and as far as green energy ... as long as we continue to subsidize oil - it will always be hard for green energy to compete ... its still not even close to being a fair playing field ...
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    polaris wrote:
    i was at those protests ... and i don't recall anyone saying that was the motive ... it doesn't take sherlock to figure out middle east instability will drive up the price of oil ... everyone knew that a war in iraq would drive up the price ...

    Hehe....but they weren't fixating on "middle east stability" or oil companies then. They were fixating on what they thought was "inevitable": America's takeover of Iraqi oil fields.
    edit: and as far as green energy ... as long as we continue to subsidize oil - it will always be hard for green energy to compete ... its still not even close to being a fair playing field ...

    This is an excellent point. Subsidies to the oil industry are a complete and total waste. Removing them really isn't going to help green energy in its current form, but it should be done regardless.
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    inmytree wrote:
    and the putting the eggs into one basket...yes, it's stupid, I agree...but I think lobby moneys and the Energy Policy Task Force conducted with Cheney may have something to do with that...

    By the time this happened, those eggs were already rotten.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Hehe....but they weren't fixating on "middle east stability" or oil companies then. They were fixating on what they thought was "inevitable": America's takeover of Iraqi oil fields.

    well ... how the heck do you think these guys have made their profits?? ...

    manufactured war = big profits
  • know1
    know1 Posts: 6,801
    polaris wrote:
    well ... how the heck do you think these guys have made their profits?? ...

    manufactured war = big profits

    They made the profit because they sold a product for a price that people were willing to buy and they did not waste the money they brought in with regard to these sales. Efficiency and low costs are generally a big part of profit as well. I've seen plenty of companies that had bigtime sales numbers, but struggled to make a profit.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    polaris wrote:
    well ... how the heck do you think these guys have made their profits?? ...

    By selling a product that is the lifeblood of the world economy, of course. By selling a product whose price is skyrocketing because of threats to supply and a massive growth in demand in emerging markets like China and India. The price of oil is not just based on supply and it's not just based on demand. It's based on the interaction between those two forces.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    farfromglorified wrote:
    By selling a product that is the lifeblood of the world economy, of course. By selling a product whose price is skyrocketing because of threats to supply and a massive growth in demand in emerging markets like China and India. The price of oil is not just based on supply and it's not just based on demand. It's based on the interaction between those two forces.

    exactly ... and those conditions would not have happened without this war ...

    we can say it's a fine coincidence for the oil barrons but the legitimacy of this war is beyone debate ... manufactured war ... for this reason amongst others ...
  • Eliot Rosewater
    Eliot Rosewater Posts: 2,659
    Yet just more proof that Americans are really fucking stupid. I for one am excited for gas prices to sky-rocket even more. Then maybe we'll wise up and focus on renewable energy. I mean really focus on it. Or even in the short term just be more efficient and energy conscious.

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