What About Those Oil Companies and Their Big Profits?
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Wall Street Journal had a pertinent piece on August 4 that bears some repeating. In it they asked “What is a ‘windfall’ profit anyway?” and provided some much needed context about the money that oil companies make.
On Aug 6, Obama made an amazing policy suggestion. He said that the government should actually confiscate money from private businesses and redistribute that money, giving it away like welfare! This is pure, socialist, redistribution of profits. It is also as anti-American as you can get.
So, the Journal made some pertinent points to ponder about just what the oil company profits are and how they measure against other industries.
First of all, the Journal notes that Exxon, for instance, paid an enormous amount of taxes. “Between 2003 and 2007, Exxon paid $64.7 billion in U.S. taxes, exceeding its after-tax U.S. earnings by more than $19 billion.”
According to the WSJ, here were some more facts about Exxon’s “obscene” profits:
Exxon’s 2007 profit margin = 10%
Here are the profit margins of some of our other industries and companies:
- Areospace Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 8.2%
- U.S. Manufacturing Sector’s 2007 profit margin = 8.9%
- GE’s 2007 profit margin = 10.3%
- Berkshire Hathaway Investors = 11.47%
- Chemicals Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 12.7%
- Computers Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 13.7%
- Electronics and appliances Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 14.5%
- Pharmaceuticals Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 18.4%
- beverages and tobacco Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 19.1%
- Google’s 2007 profit margin = 25.3%
Want “obscene” profits? How about electronics company LG that saw profits increase 505% in 2007? Maybe we should lay low the evil profits from Abbot Laboratories that saw a 110% increase?
So, why are we attacking just the oil companies again? Could it be that it’s just because the Democrats want a whipping boy? Why, yes. Yes it could be.
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Posted by Warner Todd Huston on August 7, 2008 6:39 am
» Filed Under Liberal Media/Bias, News, Socialism, Taxes
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Obama says that the Republicans are trying to make us afraid of him because he’s black. That’s not why I’m afraid of him. I fear him because he’s red. As in Communist Red. He hates capitalism, and he wants to destroy it. I won’t vote for a Communist. And anyone that cares about capitalism will vote against Obama as well.