2007-02-02 04:26:22 · 9 answers · asked by rockstar_livin 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
hmm i guess being the biggest profit makers in the history of the U.S. doesnt mean anything to some of you.i gues the news channels are all in some huge conspiracy to mislead us.
2007-02-02 06:39:50 · update #1
Hmm, well...yes and no.
Yes because much of their profitability comes from government tax breaks, subsidies, cheap leases on federal land, outright fraud (Exxon itself owes many millions of dollars to the federal government for oil royalties, but the Bush administration hasn't bothered to collect any of it), etc. To the extent that they get special consideration from the government, yet still charge prices for their product that produce outrageous profits, it is a big deal.
On the other hand, it's a free market -- they set their fuel prices however they want to, and will still buy their product. If we want lower fuel prices, we (as consumers) have to just stop using theirs...lower demand so the price goes down. Drive less, conserve where we can, basically thumb our nose at them...which we don't do now. Admittedly, it's difficult to use alternative fuels when the oil companies themselves actively block their development and distribution, but a really motivated consumer block could get the job done, and lower demand enough to cause lower prices and lower profits for the oil industry.
2007-02-02 04:33:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
While you may think that the oil industry pays off really good, it is not always true. The people above (big men in suits, to call them in some way) are the one making the money. Those are geologists, geophysicists, etc.
I personally work as a technical support engineer and sometimes have to go offshore to run cables and connect servers so that the big men in suits can check on the data that is being collected at the rigs. I do not get paid that much, to put it in a simple answer. It is just one of the jobs out there that paid me a bit more than the others, but not a lot more.
2007-02-02 04:33:21 · answer #2 · answered by F B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, since I worked in the oil industry from the age of 20 until I retired. You don't have the foggiest notion of what it costs to maintain the "oil industry," so peddle your gripe elsewhere. And one answer was correct, the most profitable is the credit card business. They just don't get the publicity. You don't put a credit card into your gas tank, only what you put ON your credit card.
2007-02-02 04:35:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it is a big deal that we Americans are the largest consumer of oil, and that we don't change our consumption much at all when the price triples.
2007-02-02 04:37:09 · answer #4 · answered by g g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's the most profitable because the world is dependant on the oil...it will be sold...there is no supply and demand to worry about, people will buy it
2007-02-02 04:29:02 · answer #5 · answered by Jared P 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just one person's opinion here...but because gasoline is an absolute necessity in our lives...I think that it should be regulated, like the public utilities.
2007-02-02 04:30:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry not even close----Credit card industry is the most profitable
2007-02-02 04:31:34 · answer #7 · answered by Sophie B 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is if you are getting government subsidies.
2007-02-02 04:29:35 · answer #8 · answered by RjM 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hell Ya
2007-02-02 04:29:19 · answer #9 · answered by AVENGER 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋