Comment on In the Middle of America
...and, while we're at it, are conservatives (worse yet, Republicans) unknowingly inviting in the Culture of Corruption scenario they all seem so scared of by their “ignorance is bliss” policy concerning their own party?
How can you oppose “Congressional bribery scheming”, but not oppose the “GOP Mafia” that facilitates it?
You know as well as I do G, the left isn't as interested in helping the poor as it is about, destroying the rich. What they do not realize is, someone had to work to get that wealth. Even though many inherit their ancestors' wealth, those ancestors had to work for it.
Did Exxon work harder to earn their extra 10 billion this 3rd quarter?
Fool
Exxon is not a person marco. Exxon consists of thousands of individuals whom own stock. When you think about Exxon as an individucal that you can prosecute or govern, you are mistakin in your logic.
You can analyze the buisness practices of the compnay, and even look into the decision making process of its board of directors, but you cannot look at the company as an individual with its own money and assets. Everything Exxon has is actually owned by the shareholders whom entrust the board of directors to use in a way that will yield a positive return on that investment.
In other words, you cant take Exxon to jail, and to "shut em down", would mean that thousands of Americans would suddenly see their 401k accounts destroyed, pensions ruined, and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.
Klevenstien,
That would apply if it were not for the fact that bribery and corruption are not a GOP specific affliction. You're trying to pin that one on only Republicans, but fail to see that it is just Washington in general with that problem.
G, I was responding to LAsun's "destroying the rich" thing
I don't oppose big business or big government.
I do oppose underhanded deals that screw the middle and lower class out of their money, then proclaim a record profit, and recieve an extra few tax breaks.
I oppose any govt that tolerates or encourages that behavior.
"I do oppose underhanded deals that screw the middle and lower class out of their money, then proclaim a record profit, and recieve an extra few tax breaks."
Did you not receive a gallon of gas for your $2.92 (or whatever the price)? Did you not freely decide to exchange your money for gasoline? Did the companies illegaly raise their prices? You did have a choice; no one forced you to buy at that time. I do not recall reading of scores of bankruptcy filings because of the price of gasoline. That’s our capitalist system at work. Would you have preferred government price controls accompanied by gasoline shortages and long lines, like the 1980’s?
I wasn’t enthralled with the high prices, either. However, the choice to buy or not was mine. I’m neither interested in punishing the oil companies, nor in trying to get those profits returned to the consumer. I’m more interested in seeing those profits turned into; more research for alternative fuel sources, expanded drilling, additional refineries throughout the US versus being bunched in high storm risk areas, and the companies fully funding their retirement accounts vs. potentially passing them back to the taxpayers. I would consider such responsible actions to be investments worth the short lived high process.
Something to think about, anyway.
I think what should be looked at (in my opinion) is the probably cartel forming up with oil distribution and oil companies. The price that is being given out to customers is seriously lacking in the normal competitive forces of an open market.
Please.
Gas is as much engrained in our life (currently) as food and water.
I could chose not to buy gas, sure, I could also choose never to leave my house. (For the record, while it was warm and dry I rode my bike to the train station)
There are millions that have no choice. If you're a truck driver, cab driver, pizza delivery guy, etc, complete reliance on a product is more than just a 'choice'. That's a dependancy
I don't think we should have govt regulated prices for a free market, but for absolute necessities, maybe we should. We're currently rewarding these behaviors instead of punishing them.
No bankruptcies were filed, but $30/week from every driver in America sure does add up to a hell of a profit eh? So you're defending a "If they only steal a little bit, its ok" methodology? Creative. We DO have anti-Monopoly laws. How does the oil industry not fall under those rules?
I wholeheartedly agree about the profit-for research part, heck, i might even donate extra if '5 cents of every dollar I spend on gas is put directly into research'.
What are the odds of that actually happening? None.
Marco,
You missed the point. Any big corporation had to start out sometime. Someone, somewhere, had an idea for a company, invested their own hard earned money into the company, and started doing business as that company. They had to work to get it off the ground. If you have ever owned any kind of business, you would understand that.
It helps to think things through, before you knee jerk a response that really hasn't got a damned thing to do with what was said.
I, like the Old Soldier, didn't particularly appreciate the way the big oil companies jacked up the prices up, either. In my opinion, that was price gouging. BUT, I do not want the government interfering in the affairs of private industry, anymore than necessary. I do not want them fixing prices. Once you allow that for the oil industry, where does that lead next?
And for your information, a basic refresher in economics would serve you well. The oil industry is NOT a monopoly, it is an oligopoly. Since you do not understand the difference and insist an calling me a fool because of your inability to understand a simple point that I was trying to make, debating you any further, on any topic, will be useless.
I will not respond to any more of your snide nasty remarks. Have a nice day.
NOT a monopoly, it is an oligopoly
Agreed, and I do understand. When they function as a whole, dictating price its a collective monopoly.
Snide remarks, lol. My apologies Mr. Sensitive.
no, thats a cartel... much like OPEC or the drug lords in S. America.
Cartel, monopoly, oligopoly, whatever.
They're price gauging, and some people seem to defend it as good ole fashioned capitalism. I call BS.
I have several points on the oil price rises.
1) I don't have a problem with rising prices in response to a supply shortage. This is how the market works to send a signal to consumers and suppliers alike where supplies are short so that suppliers will allocate their supplies to the higher price areas and marginal users will reduce their consumption. This is a more efficient mechanism than externally imposed rationing, for instance.
2) The larger market signal to the oil companies is for them to invest their "windfall" profits towards increasing supplies, and if they do so, this is an appropriate usage of the windfall.
3) The problem in an oligopoly is if the companies collude (more likely by like thinking than conspiracy), relying on the inability of new suppliers to enter the market, by using these profits to corrupt the government/rig the market to interfere with competitive mechanisms.
As for the original topic, we continue to see increasing evidence daily of the "greening" of both the Democratic and the Republican parties...resulting in the taking away of the rights of ordinary citizens who can't "pay to play".
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