How can a tax on US oil companies lower the price of a global commodity?

These are the people who effectively recover, refine and deliver the product we need. Do any of you remember gas lines?





How will punishing them to quell some sense of envy (inherent in most liberals) make the situation any better. I think it is exactly the wrong thing to do.





There are plenty of companies whose profits on a percentage of their total sales have far outpaced any of these oil companies in recent quarters. Below are a few quick 'Net Profit Margin' numbers for a recent quarter (like last month) obtained very easily from Google.





exon Mobile 10.00%


Chevron 7.94%


Conoco Philips 7.32%


Bp 8.60%


Royal Dutch Shell 8.05%





Boeing 7.54%


Ge 10.32%


3M 15.57%





Microsoft 30.36%


Cisco 20.95%





Bayer Schering Pharma 12.17%


Merck %26amp; Co., Inc. 56.73%


Pfizer Inc. 23.58%





Spite, and revenge helps no one. I think the liberals are not in fact trying to help us, they want us weaker and this effort has been in play for years.How can a tax on US oil companies lower the price of a global commodity?
You're right, at tax will not only help no one, it will actually cause the price we pay for a gallon of gas to go up. If Clinton would not have vetoed the ANWAR drilling bill in 1995, we would be benefiting from that oil right now. How about all the wells Jimmy Carter capped in the 70s? Again, we would have more oil. Obama was told that if he raises capital gains taxes, revenue to the government goes down, but he didn't seem to care. He wants to raise taxes (as all liberals do) to make things ';fair.'; Well, it seems that he hasn't realized that the world isn't fair, as Darwin said it's ';survival of the fittest,'; and if we keep ignoring the laws of capitalism and supply and demand, our economy won't be fit for much.How can a tax on US oil companies lower the price of a global commodity?
It's not about the percentages, but about sheer absolute numbers. If you look again, you'll find the absolute profits of the oil companies far higher than those other companies.





Say I sell a candy bar I bought for 50 cents for a dollar. That's a net profit margin of 50%, but does that mean I'm more profitable than the oil companies? No...
Yes the Democrats have no answers. They have had two years to make a change and have not been successful. It is time for a CHANGE to better government. Elect Republicans to be your next congresspeople to lead our nation.





Liberal Democrats will increase your taxes and my taxes and we all will be poorer! Vote McCain!
Well we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. A Bunch of greed driven executives who'd throw babies in acid for a buck or nationalize it and give it to a government that dosn't understand the round peg dosn't go in the square hole.
Many people nowadays believe in the ';Whiney Wife Syndrome.';





You know....


If you punish or whine enough about it, they will just do what you want. I just hope the Oil Companies don't ';divorce'; us.
This subservient attitude of bowing down to the oil companies is sickening. We need to address this issue and whining about liberals isn't helping.
The better educated Obama supporters apparently have an ability that permits them to ignore the obvious facts and settle on those fabricated to fit their agenda.
It can't. Last time we tried this our domestic supply plummeted and our foreign dependence skyrocketed. The Democrats loaded up the bill with measures that would never pass so they could gain a headline.
Yeah. Exxon can't get by on less than $120 per barrel this year, even though they got by on $30 per barrel eight years ago. I wonder if they charge $30 per barrel for oil they pump in Texas?
Great analysis! Many of us know the answer......
Your right...but liberals don't care how bad it hurts us, as long as they get their way.
how can giving a tax break to the rich that sends jobs overseas help the economy?
It can't. The liberals are not concerned with the effects of their causes. They just vote for whatever ';feels good,'; or gets them votes. The Dems came to power in Congress on the promise of lower gas prices over two years ago now. I'm still waiting...
Consumers are captives of the oil companies and have no choice. ExxonMobil has made more money in one year than any other corporation in US history.





Your margin comparisons are meaningless. My lipstick manufacturer has a higher profit margin than the companies you mentioned, and so what?





The idea is to recoup some of the money that consumers are spending and that goes to companies that are rolling in the dough. I don't get the point of defending the oil companies. I think if you honestly looked at the problem you would be trying to suggest ways that Congress can address it rather than dismissing any attempts as ';spite and revenge.';