RE: Gas prices made simple

RE: Gas prices made simple

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/13/2008 4:40:47 PM

ROCKHARD

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i will not dispute that, and again yes we have known for yrs how vital our resources were,, many projects have been going on for a few decades on alternative energy,only to meet up with tough enviro standards and protest from the think green and animal activists,

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/13/2008 4:54:34 PM

rapala11

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hey....i think green....but i shoot and eat animals. guess that makes me a moderate. (my God gave me this rock as a gift, i believe i have a responsibility to help keep it clean).

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Post #: 32

RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/13/2008 8:35:30 PM

jonnyfishon

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On closer examination, however, that 8.3 percent earnings figure turns out to be after-tax income. The pre-tax profit margin would be considerably higher. And that’s only an average. The profits of any particular oil company could be higher or lower. For example, in 2007, ExxonMobil's after-tax earnings were 10.4 percent, much higher than the industry average. Furthermore, any particular gallon of gasoline might have passed through several companies as the product moved from the oil well to the refiner to the retailer that owns the pump.

Another complicating factor is that the percentages change from month to month, sometimes dramatically. State and federal excise taxes are generally fixed at a certain number of pennies per gallon, so as the price of gasoline rises, the percentage paid in excise taxes goes down. As shown in this breakdown, state and federal excise taxes made up 32 percent of what motorists paid at the pump in January 2000, when the average price for regular was only $1.29.

So even if the tax varies slightly gas prices are 3 times what they were. 8% is dead wrong and a very RIGHT WING thing to say. How can gas companies make 8% when gas is 3 times what it was and the taxes are about the same? Way far right.

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/13/2008 9:37:55 PM

spoonchucker

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Here's the thing. The oil companies product is a commodity ( a high level of basic need, not choice in consumption ), and they have little competition as a group, let alone from a competing product. Thus as their costs increase, they can raise prices to MAINTAIN that margin, and in fact earn higher profits ( in actual dollars ) as a result. How many other industries can do likewise?

Let's keep it simple. Say you own a bakery, and the cost of eggs, flour, sugar, etc. rise dramatically. You have two choices, raise YOUR prices proportionally to maintain your margin, or keep the same prices, or a slight increase, and have a lower margin. People want cookies, or pies, but they don't NEED them, so the limit to which YOU can raise prices is limited, ( plus there are 1,000's of bakeries ). People NEED gas, ( to drive to work, transport gas, etc. ), and there are only a handfull of suppliers. Hence that threshold is much, MUCH higher for the oil companies.

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 12:49:56 AM

ROCKHARD

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there profit margin does not vary with price increase,they pay for that in per barral price,,remember these so called bad oil companies pay that cost per barrel,, they dont get it free, many costs involved as in any business,, funny no one questions what govt makes,averags 2.5 x what oil makes per gallon,,, hell i read that in new york tax alone is .65/gal,thats not the fed and local taxes, jonny in your post it says that is the avg %,, they sell alot of product to get them profit numbers,, govt sells nothing and makes way more,,,

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 12:55:46 AM

ROCKHARD

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so what you saying spoon,is that since their isnt the competition ,they should just give their product away at a lower rate when their costs go up,as far as your bakeries they do subsidize that increase,by changing prices or downsizing their product,,see it done all the time in resturants,when price of a certain food group goes up,portions get smaller or price goes up, dont say they cant adjust ,they do

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Post #: 36

RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 1:22:56 AM

ROCKHARD

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Should the Oil Industry Make a Profit? As Gas Prices Soar, the Oil Industry Rakes in Billions in Profits By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
April 30, 2008

var addthis_pub = 'abcnews'; The price of gasoline has never been higher, with many Americans feeling the pinch on their wallets. But not those who own stock in oil companies.

As soaring gas prices have turned into massive profits for big oil, the shareholders of these companies are cashing in. And if you own a mutual fund, that may even be you. BP yesterday reported a staggering 63 percent surge in first quarter net profit to $7.6 billion, and Royal Dutch Shell posted a 25 percent increase to $9.1 billion. Last week, ConocoPhillips reported a 16 percent rise in net income to $4.1 billion. The earnings bonanza is expected to continue when ExxonMobil and Chevron report earnings later this week. . But is there anything wrong with that? Isn't earning a profit the American way? Related

Robert Strom, director of research and policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which works to advance entrepreneurship, could not speak directly about oil companies but pointed out that profits are the driving motivation behind most business ventures.
"In a market economy, production is driven by a profit motive," Strom said. "If I'm an entrepreneur and I'm starting a business and there's no prospect of me making a profit, there is little, if any, reason for me to undertake that activity." The same can be said for existing companies looking to launch new production or make innovations to existing technologies. For its part, the oil industry concedes that the oil companies are making lots of money, but Rayola Dougher, senior economic advisor at API, the industry's trade and lobbying group, said those companies are also spending billions and billions of dollars. "That's just one part of the story. They are earning a fortune. That's tens of billions of dollars. But they're spending hundreds of billions getting the product to market," Dougher said.

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 5:40:36 AM

rapala11

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how much profit is enough? when does a company acknowledge its moral obligations to a society? when does it step back when it sees the impact the costs of its product has on the consumer and everyday life?

not everyone can afford to buy oil company stock, either.

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 6:05:57 AM

jackq

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rapala,
To sort of answer your question with a question.....When does a papasite know when to quit sucking the life blood out of its victim????

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 9:23:06 AM

rapala11

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hey, i studied biology. i know the answer......uh...............uh, when it is dead or has no more money................lol

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Post #: 40

RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 11:02:04 AM

ROCKHARD

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rap, i put that post up to try and see if you and others understand what i been saying,, they are making 10's of billions in profits,but also spending 100's of billions to market their product,, what wasnt mentioned in this particular article was their tax burden to the govt was also in the 100's of billions,no one sees that,,, how much is enuff,well who determines that,cap their profit intake,how, so what happens,govt says cap it at lets say 25/bil per yr, so when company hits that figure,do they stop production and shut off all supplies to market until the new yr comes along,or should they just give it away,, sounds like marxism,when govt controls your profit intake,where will it stop then ,start capping all corp turning a profit, what incentive is there to advance in alternative fuels if these companies are capped out of profits,where is that money to invest then,, its a slippery slope i know,but when govt starts corp takeovers, we are all in deep sh---t

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/14/2008 9:55:17 PM

jonnyfishon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ROCKHARD

rap, i put that post up to try and see if you and others understand what i been saying,, they are making 10's of billions in profits,but also spending 100's of billions to market their product,, what wasnt mentioned in this particular article was their tax burden to the govt was also in the 100's of billions,no one sees that,,, how much is enuff,well who determines that,cap their profit intake,how, so what happens,govt says cap it at lets say 25/bil per yr, so when company hits that figure,do they stop production and shut off all supplies to market until the new yr comes along,or should they just give it away,, sounds like marxism,when govt controls your profit intake,where will it stop then ,start capping all corp turning a profit, what incentive is there to advance in alternative fuels if these companies are capped out of profits,where is that money to invest then,, its a slippery slope i know,but when govt starts corp takeovers, we are all in deep sh---t

How about the government makes sure that big corp. stops cutting peoples health and pensions in order to line the pockets of the top 1%of its company(ceos,presidents,vp) Its called greed. The only thing this administration regulated was our income. Lets see , companies are making record profits, ceos making 400 times more than ever, but the common worker is losing their pensions and benifits and jobs. Its bullsh!t. If you dont want caps or at least ballance then you dont want middle class people period.

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RE: Gas prices made simple - 7/15/2008 9:57:26 AM

ROCKHARD

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no jonny,your govt dont want a middle class,,, the point you making been going on for decades, tell me when a ceo made the same as his workers,waiting on answer

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