Bout damn time someone tells the whole story. I've known this for a long time but get called a farking liar by people who live with their head up their ass looking to biatch about the slightest thing.

You also seldom read that they are giving these profits directly to the stockholders, and not spending an extra dime on either new exploration or development of alternative energy sources.

And 8.5% profit is something to boo-hoo about? Shiat, I would dig up all the mason jars of pennies in my back yard if I could invest them anywhere at 8.5%. Grocery stores usually make less than 2% profit, and nowadays are scrimping to make that.

ExxonMobil paid taxes of almost 50% on its $11.7 billion earnings.

That's what tax loopholes and subsidies are for, subby.

Cry me a river, Exxon. You bastards are doing more than fine.

See, it's never enough.

Actually 8.5% is pretty modest compared to other business ventures like food, alcohol, any retail etc.

What everyone here fails to realize is that those of us with 401K's are probably invested in Exxon Mobil. Thus, the "shareholders" are many of the same people biatching about Exon Mobil's profits.

Lurking Fear: What everyone here fails to realize is that those of us with 401K's are probably invested in Exxon Mobil. Thus, the "shareholders" are many of the same people biatching about Exon Mobil's profits.

It's certainly a component of my 401K portfolio. But of course people always want it both ways.

Lurking Fear 2008-07-31 02:18:21 PM
What everyone here fails to realize is that those of us with 401K's are probably invested in Exxon Mobil. Thus, the "shareholders" are many of the same people biatching about Exon Mobil's profits.

The truth, you sayeth it

whidbey: That's what tax loopholes and subsidies are for, subby.

Cry me a river, Exxon. You bastards are doing more than fine.

I wish I could only pay tax on 50% of my earnings :)

A billion here, a billion there....Pretty soon you're talking about real money.

I don't know if it's possible for me to care less about their margin, or their tax rate. The fact still remains that this is just their PROFIT. After they clear their operating costs, that's what's left over. I'm not saying that any company shouldn't make a profit, but COME ON. That's obscene! This is money in the double-digit BILLIONS that they've made by artificially jacking up prices from speculation, phony shortages, and keeping production low...And they've made it off of the backs of hardworking people who are just trying to get to work, so they can pay for more gas.

I'm sorry. Fact of the matter is, gas hovered at right around a buck right up until Bush the oilman took office. Now, suddenly...Magically! It's four bucks! Exxon-Mobil is breaking global-corporation profit records every quarter, and they REALLY expect us to buy the smoke and mirrors? They think they can just throw up their hands, and say, "it's what the market will bear", and we're just expected to swallow it?

Bullshiat.

That story broke my heart. I have read about atrocities, genocide, and natural disasters and all of them combined couldn't sadden me like this story.

I'm ready to start a fund to help Exxon recover from these tragedies of low profit margins and having to pay taxes. Who's with me? If we all chip in we can make a brighter future for the good folks at Exxon. You know they'd do it for you.

MaxxLarge: I'm sorry. Fact of the matter is, gas hovered at right around a buck right up until Bush the oilman took office. Now, suddenly...Magically! It's four bucks! Exxon-Mobil is breaking global-corporation profit records every quarter, and they REALLY expect us to buy the smoke and mirrors? They think they can just throw up their hands, and say, "it's what the market will bear", and we're just expected to swallow it?

Well, yeah because not enough people are pissed off about it and many of those that were pissed off enough to do something have become complacent.

if you want change MOBOLIZE

Do any of these squawking boxes of stupid actually know what margin is for? It's to help you figure out what you need to sell your item/services for in order to turn a profit. Once you actually turn a profit, margin is meaningless. Total profit is the far more important number.

would you rather make a 50% profit margin on $100 in sales or 1% on $100,000,000,000?

ExxonMobil paid taxes of almost 50% on its $11.7 billion earnings.
Show me the receipt. Somehow, I just can't buy this.
Oh, 1B reportedly spent on search and develop. WOW.

BTW, those of you worried 'bout your oil stocks. That stock buyback is not your stock. Not for you! You may see some increase in stock value trickle down, but big bucks go elsewhere.

See, I did not even go into that whole lease/3-card monte thing.
Restraint.

WTFDYW: Actually 8.5% is pretty modest compared to other business ventures like food, alcohol, any retail etc.

Except that our retail sales are down about 8.5% and costs are going up daily.

MaxxLarge: A billion here, a billion there....Pretty soon you're talking about real money.

I don't know if it's possible for me to care less about their margin, or their tax rate. The fact still remains that this is just their PROFIT. After they clear their operating costs, that's what's left over. I'm not saying that any company shouldn't make a profit, but COME ON. That's obscene! This is money in the double-digit BILLIONS that they've made by artificially jacking up prices from speculation, phony shortages, and keeping production low...And they've made it off of the backs of hardworking people who are just trying to get to work, so they can pay for more gas.

I'm sorry. Fact of the matter is, gas hovered at right around a buck right up until Bush the oilman took office. Now, suddenly...Magically! It's four bucks! Exxon-Mobil is breaking global-corporation profit records every quarter, and they REALLY expect us to buy the smoke and mirrors? They think they can just throw up their hands, and say, "it's what the market will bear", and we're just expected to swallow it?

Bullshiat.

Exxon did not pay almost 50% on $11 billion. The company paid almost 50% on $22.206 billion. Right there in Exxon's quarterly financial statement.

Me, I could care less how much Exxon makes...a billion or a hundred billion, it doesn't matter to me. I'm far more concerned about my finances than somebody or something else's. Man, if more people paid attention to their own finances and less time agonizing over whether or not somebody deserves all that money, maybe they'd wouldn't be carrying tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and paying off a mortgage that they couldn't afford in the first place.

MaxxLarge: They think they can just throw up their hands, and say, "it's what the market will bear", and we're just expected to swallow it?


Yes they can...

...and yes you do.

hardercase: Exxon did not pay almost 50% on $11 billion. The company paid almost 50% on $22.206 billion. Right there in Exxon's quarterly financial statement.

Me, I could care less how much Exxon makes...a billion or a hundred billion, it doesn't matter to me. I'm far more concerned about my finances than somebody or something else's. Man, if more people paid attention to their own finances and less time agonizing over whether or not somebody deserves all that money, maybe they'd wouldn't be carrying tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and paying off a mortgage that they couldn't afford in the first place.

You should care. W/o that kind of profit big oil could not afford to hire Shrub to run their wars.

hardercase: Me, I could care less how much Exxon makes...a billion or a hundred billion, it doesn't matter to me. I'm far more concerned about my finances than somebody or something else's. Man, if more people paid attention to their own finances and less time agonizing over whether or not somebody deserves all that money, maybe they'd wouldn't be carrying tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and paying off a mortgage that they couldn't afford in the first place.

Because the financial activities of linchpin industries to the economy have no effect on anyone else, no sir.

$5.7 billion in taxes in one quarter?

If the government would give them a tax break, they could invest that 5.7 billion into alternative energy/new exploration along with the $7 billion they already invested during the 2nd quarter.

MaxxLarge: COME ON. That's obscene! This is money in the double-digit BILLIONS that they've made by artificially jacking up prices from speculation, phony shortages, and keeping production low.


I guess you missed the other part of their report; that production fell by 8.5%...

Say hello to my little friend, Peak Oil.

See, you drink my milkshake every day, but every day it gets harder and harder and you get less and less milkshake. Then your whole life which is 100% dependent on easy cheap milkshakes collapses. Then you do ... that thing you're doing; the tears, the finger-pointing, and the sniveling.

BooBoo23: Correction: ExxonMobil's customers paid the taxes on its $11.7 Billion earnings.

And EXXON Mobil paid the taxes on their customers' income (less money in consumers' pockets, less consumer spending, less stuff shipping from here to there and everywhere, smaller cars, fewer vacations, etc..)

But of course you supply siders NEVER bring up that side of the equation. And the plain fact is that it's never a 1-for-1 conversion either way. Corporations will pass on SOME of their taxes. Consumers will pass on SOME of their taxes. . .so, when the dust settles, changing the tax burden actually DOES change the tax burden. Who woulda thunk it?

WTFDYW: Actually 8.5% is pretty modest compared to other business ventures like food, alcohol, any retail etc.

Or software. Software profits average something like 22%.

adiabat

$5.7 billion in taxes in one quarter?

If the government would give them a tax break, they could invest that 5.7 billion into alternative energy/new exploration along with the $7 billion they already invested during the 2nd quarter.

Are you talking about Exxon? If so, please name any quarter in which they invested $7 billion in alternative energy/new exploration.

One quarter is all I am asking. From Exxon, not the entire industry.

adiabat: If the government would give them a tax break, they could invest that 5.7 billion into alternative energy/new exploration along with the $7 billion they already invested during the 2nd quarter.

They've got tax breaks. Corporations like Exxon do not pay taxes.

And they sure as sh*t wouldn't put that money into a technology that would make them obsolete.

whidbey: adiabat: If the government would give them a tax break, they could invest that 5.7 billion into alternative energy/new exploration along with the $7 billion they already invested during the 2nd quarter.

They've got tax breaks. Corporations like Exxon do not pay taxes.

And they sure as sh*t wouldn't put that money into a technology that would make them obsolete.


Screw that ineffectual mewling BS. It's symptomatic of a chronic failboy.

If you want to shake your mitts at something, shake them at the Federal Reserve because THAT is where your anger and outrage belong because, thanks to the Federal Reserve system, you and I are nothing and we will stay that way.

"Self-reliance for the penniless and government aid to those who already had more than they could use was the plan."
- Nelson Algren, "A Walk On the Wild Side"

From Minyanville:
And so it is that the central bank announced yesterday it is extending the fat teat of acronyms that allow investment banks to borrow from the Fed through January of 2009. "Healthy economic growth depends on well-functioning financial markets," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers in testimony earlier this month. "Consequently, helping the financial markets to return to more normal functioning will continue to be a top priority of the Federal Reserve."

Meanwhile, as banks jostle one another for position suckling the government teat, homeowners will have to settle for the dregs of the trough. Brett Arends, in a piece in today's Wall Street Journal, runs the math on the Hope for Homeowners Act and - surprise, surprise - finds that once you tally the "annual insurance premium" added on top of each loan to help pay for the program's losses, your interest rate right now would come to 8.1% a year.

And you announce your ignorance to the world by whining about all the wrong things... Good one.

whidbey: adiabat: If the government would give them a tax break, they could invest that 5.7 billion into alternative energy/new exploration along with the $7 billion they already invested during the 2nd quarter.

They've got tax breaks. Corporations like Exxon do not pay taxes.

And they sure as sh*t wouldn't put that money into a technology that would make them obsolete.

They will be obsolete someday, maybe never 100% gone, but they are peaking now. The rise of alternative energies and the cost of oil will show them the way out. The can be wise and invest to control future energy sources, which their and BP's commercials always talk about, or just ride oil to the grave.

liberalish: The can be wise and invest to control future energy sources, which their and BP's commercials always talk about, or just ride oil to the grave.


Hold-off on BP, Quickdraw... BP solar panels are powering about one tenth of this comment...

I guess if it gets cloudy, you won't be able to read this, so hurry. :)

liberalish: whidbey:
And they sure as sh*t wouldn't put that money into a technology that would make them obsolete.

They will be obsolete someday, maybe never 100% gone, but they are peaking now. The rise of alternative energies and the cost of oil will show them the way out. The can be wise and invest to control future energy sources, which their and BP's commercials always talk about, or just ride oil to the grave.

Example: Eastman Kodak Film and the digital camera. It almost ruined them until they decided to invest in the technology.

/posted too soon earlier.

liberalish: They will be obsolete someday, maybe never 100% gone, but they are peaking now. The rise of alternative energies and the cost of oil will show them the way out. The can be wise and invest to control future energy sources, which their and BP's commercials always talk about, or just ride oil to the grave.

They're making money and they want to continue to make money into the future. Most have stop being oil companies and started being "energy companies"

As far as "obscene" profits go look at credit cards! 20-25% profit and they don't produce a damn thing! Oil companies have to reinvest those moneys in order find and bring more oil to the market.

I would gladly kiss my 401K goodbye if it meant the death of oil speculation.

You guys know Exxon farked over the fishermen of Alaska, right? You know they bought their way our of responsibility, right? Because of Exxon, there is no reason for any company to abide by safety or environmental regulations anymore. It's cheaper to wait for an accident and absolve your responsibility for a fraction of the cost in the courts.


Do all your economic calculations...the fact is everyone in this country is a little bit poorer due to fuel costs....and Exxon-Mobile is boasting record profits.

Show me the math on that please.

Lurking Fear: What everyone here fails to realize is that those of us with 401K's are probably invested in Exxon Mobil. Thus, the "shareholders" are many of the same people biatching about Exon Mobil's profits.

what I came to say.....

over 95% of big oil is owned by mutual funds, insurance funds and retirement funds. less than 3% is owned by individuals.

And another point about those obscene bonuses, etc: If all the CEOs and board members worked for free and did not accept bonuses, the cost of gas would be affected less than $0.01 per gallon.

lunchinlewis: See, it's never enough.


nope. if someone is making more than you they should be taxed so much that they are on your shi__y level. that's how it goes.

real shaman: over 95% of big oil is owned by mutual funds, insurance funds and retirement funds. less than 3% is owned by individuals.

And mutual funds, insurance funds and retirement funds are owned by individuals.

Remember kids, you are a special interest

.

The Stealth Hippopotamus: liberalish: They will be obsolete someday, maybe never 100% gone, but they are peaking now. The rise of alternative energies and the cost of oil will show them the way out. The can be wise and invest to control future energy sources, which their and BP's commercials always talk about, or just ride oil to the grave.

They're making money and they want to continue to make money into the future. Most have stop being oil companies and started being "energy companies"

As far as "obscene" profits go look at credit cards! 20-25% profit and they don't produce a damn thing! Oil companies have to reinvest those moneys in order find and bring more oil to the market.

Profits don't concern me (most are paid out as dividends anyway) as much as the amount of influence these oil (hopefully they will be true energy companies in the future) companies have with US energy policy. My major issue is that there are not enough carrots or sticks being wielded by congress to spur their transition to 'holistic' energy companies because it is easier to rake in campaign contributions and rubber stamp the status quo. I hear arguments that we need to drill for more oil (ANWR, offshore, guido hair) to prepare for the future but I feel that is tremendously shortsighted and similar to looking through a single pane of glass in a large stained-glass window.

liberalish: My major issue is that there are not enough carrots or sticks being wielded by congress to spur their transition to 'holistic' energy companies because it is easier to rake in campaign contributions and rubber stamp the status quo.

Who says Congress should have anything to do with it? Let them fail! If they cant adapt to the future let them die. All Congress will do will at time and cost to something that should happen naturally.

One useless man is a disgrace
Two are a law firm
And three or more is a Congress


And anyone who says drilling is the answer is a fool. Anyone that just waiting around for new tech is a fool. Why not do everything in our power to get energy?!? Can't we do both?!?

The Stealth Hippopotamus: liberalish: Why not do everything in our power to get energy?!? Can't we do both?!?


How about invading another country to "stabilize" oil production?

snocone: How about invading another country to "stabilize" oil production?

As long as we do it well.

The Stealth Hippopotamus: snocone: How about invading another country to "stabilize" oil production?

As long as we do it well.

The invasion part went real well.
Not so sure on the occupation strategy, but does finally seem to have succeded. In all fairness, occupation is a real tough biatch.
Shame the CIA could not figure out who to pay earlier.

snocone: The invasion part went real well.
Not so sure on the occupation strategy, but does finally seem to have succeded. In all fairness, occupation is a real tough biatch.
Shame the CIA could not figure out who to pay earlier.

His sons were worst than he was. People look down on wiping out whole families.

Sorry, not feeling sorry for any corporations today. Greed's going to kill us all.

GurneyHalleck: Sorry, not feeling sorry for any corporations today. Greed's going to kill us all.

Yeah but those poor poor men, only being left with 6 billion after everything else is paid off. They should each have that much.

Taxes? Pfft. For the middle working class.

can we all please buy more exxon products so to keep the Rockefeller family afloat in these times of high gas prices?

now do you see why exxon couldn't afford to pay those fines for the alaska spill.

Those poor oil company CEOs, somehow managing to survive on those slim margins. I'll be praying for them and their families.

WHARR-something or other...

Your government makes well more off each gallon of gasoline than does any energy company.

WTFDYW: Actually 8.5% is pretty modest compared to other business ventures like food, alcohol, any retail etc.

Percentage-wise? Sure.

Now let's talk about how much money they actually made. They just made more money than any company has ever made, in the history of the world.

But those margins...they sure are slim. Poor bastards.

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Something about ExxonMobil's profits you probably won't read in media reports

Yep. You're probably right about that.