Hillary Clinton wasted little time telling the nation how she feels about profits, especially when those profits come from a favorite target of the left-Exxon Mobil.
Last week, Mobil announced it had earned $39.
5 billion in 2006 making it the most profitable company in U.
S.
history.
There is probably much resentment among even clear thinking people when they hear this number all by itself.
If, however, many of those same people heard the full story including the hundreds of billions in taxes paid by the company, how much those taxes have to do with higher prices at the pump, the years when there was little or no profit for energy companies, the squeeze unnecessarily put on by the tree-huggers, adding further to higher prices and more dependency on foreign sources, it might lessen the resentment.
Taking this scenario in a different direction, are the benefits in hundreds of billions of dollars received by federal, state and local governments, from Mobil; the number of houses built, cars purchased and all goods consumed by Mobil's 83,700 employees, along with another huge sum of taxes paid by these employees to all levels of government, again likely in the billions.
What we have is simply the capitalistic system at work.
This, of course is not the way Hillary and those on the Left see it.
For those who want to accentuate the negative-most Leftist thinking is about finding negatives-there is the higher price at the pump and a suggestion of gouging.
For 20 years or so, congress and the Federal Energy Commission (FEC) have held many hearings with absolutely no findings of gouging.
We all dislike paying the higher pump price, but remember about 6 years ago we were paying as little as $.
99 a gallon because worldwide demand was much less than it is now.
Prices were 2 to 3 times higher than ours in many countries then and they are still much higher now.
On a comparative basis, pump prices have always been a bargain in the U.
S.
What Is A Reasonable Return On Capital Rayola Dougher, of the American Petroleum Institute, said "oil companies' earnings per dollar of sales are below, or in line with, those of other industries.
Exxon Mobil made about 9.
8 cents on every dollar of sales in 2005.
In comparison, McDonald's Corp.
earned 13.
8 cents and the world's largest seller of soft drink products earned 21.
2 cents on every dollar of sales.
Oil companies charge consumers based on commodity prices set on international markets," Dougher said.
But last week, knowing what red meat she had for her audience-the Democratic National Committee-Hillary said: "I want to take those profits and put them into an alternative energy fund that will begin to fund alternative smart energy alternatives that will actually begin to move us toward the direction of independence.
" Notice Hillary did not say, take some of those profits.
She seemed to have fire in her eyes at the thought of the government winding up with all those billions for some socialist program.
Recall, she wasted no time in going after 14% of the economy, soon after Bill Clinton's election, attempting to nationalize health care.
Now, it seems, she has a great cause for stirring up the socialistic, profit hating, ACLU, Blame America/Hate America, U.
N.
loving, George Soros loving, Jihad Jane loving, crowd.
Last week, Mobil announced it had earned $39.
5 billion in 2006 making it the most profitable company in U.
S.
history.
There is probably much resentment among even clear thinking people when they hear this number all by itself.
If, however, many of those same people heard the full story including the hundreds of billions in taxes paid by the company, how much those taxes have to do with higher prices at the pump, the years when there was little or no profit for energy companies, the squeeze unnecessarily put on by the tree-huggers, adding further to higher prices and more dependency on foreign sources, it might lessen the resentment.
Taking this scenario in a different direction, are the benefits in hundreds of billions of dollars received by federal, state and local governments, from Mobil; the number of houses built, cars purchased and all goods consumed by Mobil's 83,700 employees, along with another huge sum of taxes paid by these employees to all levels of government, again likely in the billions.
What we have is simply the capitalistic system at work.
This, of course is not the way Hillary and those on the Left see it.
For those who want to accentuate the negative-most Leftist thinking is about finding negatives-there is the higher price at the pump and a suggestion of gouging.
For 20 years or so, congress and the Federal Energy Commission (FEC) have held many hearings with absolutely no findings of gouging.
We all dislike paying the higher pump price, but remember about 6 years ago we were paying as little as $.
99 a gallon because worldwide demand was much less than it is now.
Prices were 2 to 3 times higher than ours in many countries then and they are still much higher now.
On a comparative basis, pump prices have always been a bargain in the U.
S.
What Is A Reasonable Return On Capital Rayola Dougher, of the American Petroleum Institute, said "oil companies' earnings per dollar of sales are below, or in line with, those of other industries.
Exxon Mobil made about 9.
8 cents on every dollar of sales in 2005.
In comparison, McDonald's Corp.
earned 13.
8 cents and the world's largest seller of soft drink products earned 21.
2 cents on every dollar of sales.
Oil companies charge consumers based on commodity prices set on international markets," Dougher said.
But last week, knowing what red meat she had for her audience-the Democratic National Committee-Hillary said: "I want to take those profits and put them into an alternative energy fund that will begin to fund alternative smart energy alternatives that will actually begin to move us toward the direction of independence.
" Notice Hillary did not say, take some of those profits.
She seemed to have fire in her eyes at the thought of the government winding up with all those billions for some socialist program.
Recall, she wasted no time in going after 14% of the economy, soon after Bill Clinton's election, attempting to nationalize health care.
Now, it seems, she has a great cause for stirring up the socialistic, profit hating, ACLU, Blame America/Hate America, U.
N.
loving, George Soros loving, Jihad Jane loving, crowd.
Source...