First Big Oil loomed in the sights of Congress. Cheating and gouging, not pumping or selling overseas cried Chuckie Boy Schumer and Socialist Bernie Sanders, two of the Senate’s peltless conspiracy hunters. When this failed to deflect the voting public’s unrest, wild finger pointing commenced, searching out “speculators” and oil cheats.

A huge dilemma occurred with that game drive; it bagged the voters’ 401(k)’s, IRA’s, stocks and mutual funds, yes, their retirement accounts.

Needless to say, that model didn’t get out of the showroom.

The following we have this from people who know, unlike those clowns in congress that put us in this position to start.

Onions have no futures market, yet their recent price volatility makes the swings in oil and corn look tame.

(Fortune Magazine) — Before the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission starts scrutinizing the role that speculators may have played in driving up fuel and food prices, investigators may want to take a look at price swings in a commodity not in today’s news: onions.

The bulbous root is the only commodity for which futures trading is banned. Back in 1958, onion growers convinced themselves that futures traders (and not the new farms sprouting up in Wisconsin) were responsible for falling onion prices, so they lobbied an up-and-coming Michigan Congressman named Gerald Ford to push through a law banning all futures trading in onions. The law still stands.

And yet even with no traders to blame, the volatility in onion prices makes the swings in oil and corn look tame, reinforcing academics’ belief that futures trading diminishes extreme price swings. Since 2006, oil prices have risen 100%, and corn is up 300%. But onion prices soared 400% between October 2006 and April 2007, when weather reduced crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only to crash 96% by March 2008 on overproduction and then rebound 300% by this past April. [snip]

I assume you have seen this in the papers and in all the nightly news reports.

Better yet, sign this petition to
Drill Here, Drill now!

House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries

House Democrats responded to President’s Bush’s call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. This was at an on-camera press conference fed back live.

Among other things, the Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply.

This from the people who fix your bridges and invest your social security money, Oh boy, health care too! Well, they do graft expertly.

They also reasserted that the reason the Appropriations Committee markup (where the vote on the amendment to lift the ban) was cancelled so they could focus on preparing the supplemental Iraq spending bill for tomorrow.

Phones have been ringing non-stop telling these bozos to drill right through the furry critter’s head and get our oil.

At an off-camera briefing, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the same. And a senior Republican House Appropriations Committee aide adds that “there were multiple reasons for the postponement” including discussion on the supplemental. But the aide said there was the thought that Democrats may wish to avoid a debate today on energy amendments.

Here are the highlights from briefing

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), member of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the most-ardent opponents of off-shore drilling
“We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.”

if you vote for me I’ll give you oil.

Hinchey on why they postponed the Appropriations markup

He had to confer with Fidel and Hugo.

I think there aren’t enough votes for the Peterson amendment. It wasn’t taken up (the Interior spending bill) because of the omnibus Appropriations bill. That’s the main focus of the Appropriations Committee. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)

Hey Rahm, then go on record voting for higher gas prices.

They (Republicans) have a one-trick pony approach. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the Resources Committee (In this circus the Dems are the clowns)

You cannot drill your way out of this. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Select Committee on Global Warming

“The White House has become a ventriloquist for the oil and gas energy. The finger should be directed back at them. They had plenty of opportunity to (arrange an energy policy). But they did not put an energy policy in place.” Markey

And you did?

The governors of California and the governors of Florida are going to scream this is not the way to go. Hinchey

Let them, I don’t mind.

There are a lot of arrows in the President’s quiver that he decided not use. Hinchey

I think it’s unlawful to shoot congress critters with a bow; why I don’t know.

“What we do has to be in the interest of the American people. Not major corporations.” Emanuel

The only thing of interest to congress is staying at the public trough.

“It’s like when I talk to my kids. Before we’re going to talk about dessert, we’ve got to talk about what’s on your plate. I hope I’m a little more successful with the oil industry than I am with my kids.” Markey

I hope not, unlike your kids the oil industry is productive.

There are so many red herrings out there they might as well construct an aquarium.

From House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) when I asked him if the markup was canceled because of potential Democratic defections on the Peterson amendment. (emphasis added)

“No. The reason the markups aren’t going through is because we’re trying to get the supplemental on the floor tomorrow.”

Ultimate BS! The phones and faxes have been non-stop on this and 287(g) the law for local law enforcement funding on illegal immigration arrests.

And from a Senior Republican House Appropriations Aide.

“There were multiple reasons for the postponement including ongoing negotiations on the (supplemental) and a (Democratic) wish to avoid debate and votes on the energy amendments.

Well, it is a waste of corn.

Belgian Brewer InBev is offering a big payday to shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. (BUD) (BUD) Inc., but its bid to create the world’s largest beer company is already facing a major obstacle - U.S. election-year politics. [snip]
Republican Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday he opposes the deal, and directed the Missouri Department of Economic Development to see if there was a way to stop it.

“I am strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-Busch, and today’s offer to purchase the company is deeply troubling to me,” Blunt said in a statement.

Web sites have sprung up opposing the deal on patriotic grounds, arguing that such an iconic U.S. firm shouldn’t be handed over to foreign ownership. One of the sites, called SaveAB.com, was launched by Blunt’s former chief of staff, Ed Martin.

“Shareholders should resist choosing dollars over American jobs,” Martin said in a statement Wednesday night. “Selling out to the Belgians is not worth it - because this is about more than beer: it’s about our jobs and our nation.” [snip]

Really? Politicians, from local to federal, spent the dollar to dirt, making everything from the Flatiron Building to BUD cheap enough to buy with pocket change.

What about the obscene profits made by Big Beer?

Bud’s profit margin is 8.74%, slightly more than all of Big Oil. We need to tax these windfall profits, products of misery from the mortgage meltdown.

Even as their overall profits have soared, major oil companies are earning a relatively modest 8.7 percent profit margin — the portion of the sale of each barrel that hits the bottom line. Major banks and drug makers, for example, enjoy profits margins that are twice as big.

Besides, slimming down BUD will free up more corn for ethanol; that puts more pressure on Evil Oil.

They should worry, BUD will be the only alcohol available for the family buggy fuel tank, about for what BUD is fit, if that.

Add this to warm weather expansion and the cost goes up.

Common glitch at pump adds to gas costs, also cheats station

ALBANY, N.Y. - Angry about the price of gas? Just imagine paying for gas you don’t get. Some alert consumers have noticed it over the years: A pump that seems to hesitate a second when the lever is squeezed. Anywhere from 2 to 6 cents tick off before the rush of gasoline starts. That’s what happens with a common, hard to diagnose and mostly ignored problem with the “check valve,” which is supposed to make sure gas flows at the same time the price meter starts.

But even if your gas pump works, it can still be off as much as $5 for every fill up. Tests by local regulators allow a pump to charge as much as 6 cents more than the gas delivered in a five-gallon test. [snip]

This isn’t considered to be gouging by Weights and Measures officials but it still costs the driver.

Big Oil-one better hope they keep paying taxes and employing people. The lefties griping about Exxon can’t cover these taxes collectively.

 

Exxon’s 2007 Tax Bill: $30 Billion

Corporate profits receive a lot of media attention, but what receives considerably less attention are the corporate taxes paid on corporate profits. Do a Google search for “Exxon profits” and you’ll get about 8,000 hits. Now try “Exxon taxes” and you’ll get a little more than 300 hits. That’s a ratio of about 33 to 1.

I’m pretty sure that Exxon’s tax payment in 2007 of $30 billion (that’s $30,000,000,000) is a record, exceeding the $28 billion it paid last year.

By the way, Exxon pays taxes at a rate of 41% on its taxable income!

[Update: The $40.6 billion and $39.5 billion figures are after-tax profits. For 2006, Exxon’s EBT (earnings before tax) was $67.4 billion, it paid $27.9 billion in taxes (41.4% tax rate), and its NIAT (net income after tax), or profit, was $39.5 billion.]

Over the last three years, Exxon Mobil has paid an average of $27 billion annually in taxes. That’s $27,000,000,000 per year, a number so large it’s hard to comprehend. Here’s one way to put Exxon’s taxes into perspective.

According to IRS data for 2004, the most recent year available:

Total number of tax returns: 130 million

Number of Tax Returns for the Bottom 50%: 65 million

Adjusted Gross Income for the Bottom 50%: $922 billion

Total Income Tax Paid by the Bottom 50%: $27.4 billion

Conclusion: In other words, just one corporation (Exxon Mobil) pays as much in taxes ($27 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers, which is 65,000,000 people! Further, the tax rate for the bottom 50% is only 3% of adjusted gross income ($27.4 billion / $922 billion), and the tax rate for Exxon was 41% in 2006 ($67.4 billion in taxable income, $27.9 billion in taxes).