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Originally Posted by Frosty
Yes, blame the oil companies when they're profit margins are 8.3-10%, the national average is 7%. Get off the Obama "we're gonna take your profits" nutsack and do some research, please. If gas is that profitable why is Mobil selling off the rest of their gas stations? If gas is that profitable then why is Exxon R&D'ing hybrid batteries? If gas is that profitable why is Shell helping GM build their hydrogen infrastructure? Also, these "oil" companies are also ENERGY companies. They don't even make all their money off of just oil. Furthermore do you know how many 401K and pensions are wrapped up in these companies? They're dividend based stocks too. You can blame Bush, you can blame all the Republicans blah blah blah, the fact is the ENTIRE government has done nothing for decades AGAINST the suggestion of expert.
Oh wait, I forgot, people like Obama and Pelosi are going to save us from the clutches of the evil companies, alternative energy is just a night's sleep away.  . Maybe if our ******* government did their job 20yrs ago we wouldn't be in this dilemma. This issue isn't a right vs left issue. It's the entire government's issue and neither side can agree on a damn thing. The right just wants to drill, the left thinks we're magically going to wake up tomorrow and have alternative energy resources and think drilling is evil. Both sides need to wake the hell up AND JUST DO SOMETHING! Do it all, drill, build refineries, go nuclear..or nu-clear as Bush says lol, conserve, fund wind and solar, just do it all. But for Christ sake stop the Ethanol BS, taking a food product to fill up our SUV's is, was and always will be a horrendous idea. |
First of all, oil companies report record profits every single quarter, exceeding 40 billion dollars. Saying that the oil companies are in dire straits is just crazy. Why is Exxon researching batteries? Because it's profitable. Thats what companies do, try and make more money. "They don't even make all their money off of just oil." You answered your own question right there. Companies diversify to adjust potential short, medium, and long term risks and invest in potential 'hot stocks' before they break. These companies recognize the potential for profit in other industries and invest in them, not because they believe in the moral or ethical values, or lack there of, of these endeavors, but for the money to be made if it all goes as their projectors claim. Andrew Carnegie saw the future in the rise of the Industrial Revolution and got into steel, John D Rockefeller saw the need for oil, and JP Morgan saw the development of a centralized government controlled financial system. All three made billions. These oil or 'energy' companies as they are, make incredible amounts of money. Not only are the people getting raped at the pump, but the Saudi's are pissed off that the speculators are driving up the domestic costs of oil and they aren't seeing a dime more than they were. The problem is that our laws allow oil companies to lobby Washington to buy influence and use their influence to sway political decisions in their favor, which is why it has gotten to this point. Nobody in Washington will say anything, because they know that to do so, will be the end of their career. It's an absolute shame that our so called democratic state has turned into a totalitarian capitalist system, and I'm in no way pointing fingers at republican or democrat, as like you said, this problem has been around for decades. One other thing to note while we're talking about energy companies and diversification, is that several companies have been investing in the Congo. Weapons investments that is. You see, there's a lot of things like diamond mines there, and a small little civil war too. What a convenience. What they have done is strategically arm both sides to fight each other, while building 'refineries' in the middle of the jungle, then raping the mines and selling the diamonds off and making millions. Monetary and political influence at its finest.