Bush defends Exxon $36 Billon 2005 profit??

[Surfergal]

Well that's a rich oilman speaking...

By TERENCE HUNT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)

"President Bush defended the huge profits of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Wednesday, saying they are simply the result of the marketplace and that consumers socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks."
...
"Early this week, Exxon reported record profits of $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year - the largest of any U.S. company. While some politicians raised furious objections, Bush had a different reaction.

"There is a marketplace in American society," he said."

read on
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1336960.stm

"As Texas governor, Mr Bush quietly set up a committee led by Exxon, with other big oil and chemical companies, to advise him what to do about the state's deadly air pollution.

Regulators wanted compulsory cuts in emissions of up to 50% - this "secret" committee instead proposed making the cuts voluntary.

Mr Bush duly steered the polluters plan through the state legislature.

Huge donations

Texas anti-corruption law made it illegal to donate money to Mr Bush as governor whilst such legislation was under consideration.

But that month, Mr Bush declared for his candidacy for president - making the $150,000 donated by committee members and their representatives completely legal"

from http://www.moby.com/node/7159

"exxon were the 2nd largest campaign contributor to bush's first presidential campaign(2nd only to enron...).
exxon in the last election gave 80% of their campaign contributions to republican candidates.
another salient fact:
exxon executives have participated in a few bush sponsored energy think-tanks, including the one that was involved, with dick cheney, in establishing u.s energy policy.

oh, did i mention that exxon received $2.6 BILLION in SUBSIDIES from the bush administration?
in other words: we as taxpayers gave exxon $2.6 BILLION so that they could go on to have record earnings and record profits.
these subsidies were a part of the energy bill that the oil industry helped write, along with dick cheney(who, surprise surprise, is the former ceo of halliburton, an energy company)."

[excuseme]

Yeah they claim they are not gouging us and yet have record profit. You can't have it both ways, unless the President is protecting you.

[dlwt]

this isnt right. Highest profits ever and highest contributions TO THEM. Man this aint right but apparently it will be like this for a while. How people can support the president and defend this is beyond me. Oh by the way most of us well lets just say me and my family are going downhill more and more each day (financially)

[JKATHERINE]

Thank you, everyone. You've all taken the words right out of my mouth. Yet another prime example of why this idiot needs to be taken out of office and of how corrupt he really is.

[Jolie Rouge]

"exxon were the 2nd largest campaign contributor to bush's first presidential campaign(2nd only to enron...).

exxon in the last election gave 80% of their campaign contributions to republican candidates.

another salient fact: exxon executives have participated in a few bush sponsored energy think-tanks, including the one that was involved, with dick cheney, in establishing u.s energy policy.

oh, did i mention that exxon received $2.6 BILLION in SUBSIDIES from the bush administration? in other words: we as taxpayers gave exxon $2.6 BILLION so that they could go on to have record earnings and record profits.

these subsidies were a part of the energy bill that the oil industry helped write, along with dick cheney(who, surprise surprise, is the former ceo of halliburton, an energy company)."


Where did this guy get his facts and figures ?? There are no links from his site to back up his "personal views" .... I thought most of these "Entergy Policies" were set up in the 70's during the "Oil Crisis"

[Surfergal]

both articles, from London bbc and the blog say the same

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=exxon+%2B+subsidies&btnG=Search

[excuseme]

Why are you offended, you post "commentaries" on this site 24/7.



Where did this guy get his facts and figures ?? There are no links from his site to back up his "personal views" .... I thought most of these "Entergy Policies" were set up in the 70's during the "Oil Crisis"

[Jolie Rouge]

Who said I was offended ? I was trying to clarify where did he get his information ? BBC, AP, CNN, the Enquirer ? The guy is a musician not nessessarily a political analysist. ( Although Franken is a comedy writer who thinks he is a political analysit.... LOL )


you post "commentaries" on this site 24/7.

considering I haven't posted on this site for months ( up until a few days ago ) I think that is a little exaggerated.

[tngirl]

Well, there will be a lot of stock holders very happy with their returns :D Wish I was one of them. Besides, as much as I hate the high fuel costs, the oil industry is exactly that, an industry. An industry is in business to make money and so are the stockholders.

And what is the difference between an industry taking subsidies and millions of people taking advantage of the Earned Income Credit? I sure don't hear anyone complaining about my tax dollars helping to give you extra cash in your pocket.

[mesue]

Yet another prime example of why this idiot needs to be taken out of office and of how corrupt he really is.
I totally agree. Love the village idiot sig too.

[Surfergal]

Well, there will be a lot of stock holders very happy with their returns :D Wish I was one of them. Besides, as much as I hate the high fuel costs, the oil industry is exactly that, an industry. An industry is in business to make money and so are the stockholders.

And what is the difference between an industry taking subsidies and millions of people taking advantage of the Earned Income Credit? I sure don't hear anyone complaining about my tax dollars helping to give you extra cash in your pocket.

Not sure what the earned income credit is or what it has to do with this, but I am sure it no where equals this amount, and the people who get the earned income credit are not multi billionares. And yes, industry is meant to make a profit, but is a $36 billion profit reasonable or normal? or excessive ? The difference is they have absolutely no need for it, and moreover they feel absolutely no obligation to obey the law and reduce pollution - they just can
continue to polute and find ways to get around the law, even though they well afford to stop the pollution that the rest of us and our grandchildren have to live with.

[tngirl]

Not sure what the earned income credit is or what it has to do with this, but I am sure it no where equals this amount, and the people who get the earned income credit are not multi billionares. And yes, industry is meant to make a profit, but is a $36 billion profit reasonable or normal? or excessive ? The difference is they have absolutely no need for it, and moreover they feel absolutely no obligation to obey the law and reduce pollution - they just can
continue to polute and find ways to get around the law, even though they well afford to stop the pollution that the rest of us and our grandchildren have to live with.

On the subject of EIC aka Earned Income Credit....money the government GIVES "poor" US citizens, especially those with children. You can go to www.irs.gov for a better explanation. But it is definitely in the same range.
And what does it have to do with this subject? Exactly what I said. MY tax dollars at work.

Exxon's profits....these profits are split among the shareholders.

Pollution....we all pollute each and everyday. If we didn't drive our automobiles then there would not be such a need for oil companies and then there would be less pollution. Kind of a cause and effect there.

Subsidies have been given to businesses for a long time. This helps to keep these companies operating in the US instead of pulling out and going overseas where it is cheaper to operate. Now if you want the government to stop doing this, look forward to even more business being moved overseas which means more US jobs lost.

[stresseater]

The fact is us the oil companies are there to make a profit just like everyone else. They don't even have the highest profit margine. Should we be upset with yahoo, mc donalds, or pfizer? I don't think so.
.energy companies' profits are not out of line with other industries. Oil and natural gas companies earn, on average, 8.2 cents for every dollar of sales. A lot of other industries — from software to semiconductors and banking to biotechnology — make more money on every dollar sold.

But Exxon Mobil, which focuses intensely on efficiency, is a better performing company than the typical oil outfit.

For 2005, the company made 9.7 cents on the dollar, which an industry lobbying group pointed out was better than some big names but not as good as others. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Pepsi made 3.4 cents on every dollar. And GE made 7.5 cents per dollar. But those with higher profit margins include Big Mac-purveyor McDonald's, which made 11.6 cents on the dollar; Viagra-maker Pfizer, which made 20.1 cents on every the dollar; and Internet giant Yahoo, which made 45.5 cents on every dollar.

link (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3624134.html)