Posted by buylamb on 9/2/05 3:17pm
Msg #63530

O T...... ANYONE NOTICE

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed with the unfortunate events around Katrina, that big business ie. Coke, Walmart, and others are donating millions in goods.....yet the oil companies are taking profits galore. Have they donated anything to anyone...how about fuel for the buses to move those people etc..

Reply by Anonymous on 9/2/05 3:20pm
Msg #63532

Well then all the "W's" Pals would not be making any money off this crisis ...

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/2/05 3:42pm
Msg #63535

Actually, they have donated fuel to keep the police and

emergency services running (Valero oil company and BP) . But I have only seen it reported on NBC news, but you can find it all over the internet. I am not a defender of big oil companies, but we lost 25% of this country's refining capicity all at once. As far as what we are paying, if you check the commodity markets, the wholesale price is high all over the world not just here. As far as news, don't just go by what you see and hear on the boob tube. Do some research and listen to different media outlets.

Reply by NY_TaxLady on 9/2/05 6:01pm
Msg #63559

Re: Actually, they have donated fuel to keep the police and

And what about Exxon & Mobile? Have you been watching their profits before this.

Reply by NC_Notary on 9/2/05 7:30pm
Msg #63570

That is what is so disgusting....

I think it is so wrong for them to be making billions and billions in profits every quarter and still insist that they have to raise prices. Here the nation is in a crisis and they can't afford to cut back on the profits??? Millions is too little for them? I am so disgusted with all these ruthless CEO's who feel they are entitled to live a lavish lifestyle with their extravagant salaries and bonus' knowing that there are so people out there who are trying so hard to make ends meet. The average person does not make a 6 figure salary and usually has to commute to provide for their family. How much more cutting back do they think the average family can do? This oil crap is costing people more to go to work & more to heat their house to keep their families warm. About $4000.00 to be exact to pay for 1000 gallons of oil heat. The gov need to set some type of cap on the amount of profits these oil companies can reap!

Reply by John_NorCal on 9/2/05 9:04pm
Msg #63578

Re: That is what is so disgusting.... I agree......

"The gov needs to set some type of cap on the amount of profits these oil companies can reap!"

Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 9/2/05 11:20pm
Msg #63589

I was in Italy the first week of July

Gasoline prices at that time were approx. $6.50 per gallon (converted from liters) and trust me on this one; I didn't see any cars that looked anything like most of us drive in the United States. I get 23-28 highway and that is nothing to brage about!!

These new $3.00 plus prices should have one good effect; no one will be accepting $40-$50 loan signings in the near future unless they can walk next door.

Reply by Lydia_Fl on 9/3/05 8:49am
Msg #63614

Re: Friends in Brazil

I have some friends that went to Brazil about in June this year. They told me that in Brazil you have a choice to run your car on Alcohol, Gas or both . The price per gallon is less than a $1.00 . I wonder WHY we don't have an Option in the US ?

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/3/05 11:30am
Msg #63632

Re: Friends in Brazil

Actually, they sell it by the liter and that is a dollar a liter which works out to about $3.80 per gallon. You have to convert. A liter is a little more than a quart.

I too was facinated by that when I was down there and did a little looking into it. I always like to run numbers.
The alcohol program is heavilly subsidised by the government of Brazil. The whole distilling the alcohol thing began in the 70's mainly as a full employment program, not energy policy. It still takes more energy to distill a gallon of alcohol than you get out of it and that is a problem. Also, the scale of things here dwarfs that of Brazil. There are more registered automobiles in Los Angeles County than there are in the entire country of Brazil. Brazil does not have the environmental movement that is here, so a very high percentage of their power generation is nuclear. (You can find that here: http://www.uic.com.au/nip95.htm). There is one nuclear plant that does nothing but provide power to distill alcohol. Try that here.
We have done a great job of shooting ourselves in the foot when it comes to energy. No nukes, no new domestic drilling, can't use coal, groups that want to take down windmills because they kill birds. And now here we are in deep s----t. Hopefully, this will shake things up and get things going, but all of us need to get informed and involved to fix it. Big Oil Profits? Do a google search and do a search for "compare oil profits"
and you will find different info on how they stack up against the rest of the business world. You will be surprised.

Reply by Anonymous on 9/3/05 1:57pm
Msg #63644

Oil is a necessity; their profits should not be compared to

Oil is a necessity; their profits should not be compared to the "rest of the business world". Their big oil profits should not be allowed to cause financial hardship. It is just pure greed!

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/3/05 4:18pm
Msg #63652

Re: Oil is a necessity; their profits should not be compared

OK, Anonymous whoever you are, apparently, you did not do any research. My point was the oil profits per dollar sales or dollar invested are at the BOTTOM. I was hoping that you would look for yourself and not believe me. You need profits to reinvest in new equipment, drill for new oil ect. Would you not consider food, water, toilet paper, electricity etc necessities? Well, for the most part the numbers for the oil industry LOWER than that. The numbers look big because of the sheer volume of sales. Let me put it another way. What if on a $100 signing you only netted 1.30 after paying everything. Could you invest in a new printer, a new car or computer? No, you would get out of the business. And over the years, that is what happened. Since the 70's 1/2 of the fuel stations have closed. Most of the independent refiners are gone. And we are going to pay for it through shortages for the next 10 years. Ant through all that, we have some of the lowest gasoline prices in the world even though we pay an average of 45 to 85 cents per gallon in taxes depending on what state you live in.
The oil industry is heavily regulated. Its regulations that have caused no new oil refineries to be built in the last 10 years, its regulation that makes it nearly impossible to explore for new oil.
You know, I use to sit and listen carefully to my parents and grand parents and I have always been a history buff. It is tough for me to sit here and listen to some of the things that are being said these days from younger generations. I could never understand my parents frustration, but now I am the one that is nearly 60 now and I finally got it.
OK, my rant is done. I am done with the subject. The only other advice to give is to do reasearch on all things that affect your life, learn how they work and then you can work the system to better yourself. I went into loan signing only after researching it carefully and seeing what opportunities and instead of doing it part time, I have more work than I can handle and have to pass it on to persons I know will not make me look silly when they do the job.

Good luck to those of you who choose to not do research and work with the system and work to change the system. To the rest of you who are pro-active, I know you are already successful. I am gone.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 9/3/05 5:44pm
Msg #63654

Re: Oil is a necessity; their profits should not be compared

Excellent job Glenn, and so very good for educating those that DO NOT research, or understand the way things really work. Wisdom does come from listening...and understanding.

I just have to say...now THIS is the way to 'have the last word' in a final and REAL ANSWER unlike those that want the last word...just for argument purposes.....without one bit of substance...as in BS.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/3/05 6:34pm
Msg #63658

Re: Oil is a necessity; their profits should not be compared

Well, It was not my intention to get the last word. I probably got carried away. Somehow my button got pushed and I went to town. My opinion is just my opinion. I always encourage people to do their own research. It's eaiser than ever these days. The group of people that can't take care of themselves seems to be growing.
And usually, it is only because they don't have the correct information.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 9/3/05 6:47pm
Msg #63663

"Last word" not meant as criticism-your view is good N/M

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/3/05 6:52pm
Msg #63664

I took it the way you ment it .. Thanks!!

Reply by BrendaTX on 9/3/05 8:38pm
Msg #63673

Glenn...

**I went into loan signing only after researching it carefully and seeing what opportunities and instead of doing it part time, I have more work than I can handle and have to pass it on to persons I know will not make me look silly when they do the job. **

You are an interesting man, Glenn. Very insightful...and, what a concept! --researching a business before getting into it or letting someone else tell you how it should be.

Reply by Iris_WA on 9/3/05 11:32am
Msg #63633

Nat'l Geographic in 10/04 and Oil Supply

Kim Komando, computer guru, in her weekly newsletter this morning, reports that "National Geographic" magazine in Oct. 2004 predicted with almost eerie accuracy what could and has now happened with Katrina. The reasons for the danger to our nation's oil supply and consequential price rises we are now seeing attributable to such a catastrophe was covered at the beginning of this article.

Here is a link so you may read it for yourself:

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/3/05 11:45am
Msg #63634

And here is an interesting link to CNN

World gas prices as of March 2005 before the last big run up in price. The countries at the top of the list are heavilly taxed, the countries tword the bottom are heavilly subsidised. Keep in mind that almost everyone else in the world sells gas by the liter so when you visit another country and think they have cheap gas, you need to mutiply it by 3.7 to get the cost per gallon.

Here is the link http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/

Boy, do we have too much time on our hands this weekend or what??

Reply by BrendaTX on 9/3/05 8:48pm
Msg #63675

Okay, Iris and Glenn...

Yes, you have too much time on your hands. Find articles with less big words, please. Thank you.