Hearing on Oil Profits and Subsidies: Inslee's Opening

[ExxonExxoff]

OIL+GREED=EXXON, and all the rest of 'em

[AlyBlack]

Geuss what Aunt Nancy, I don't need you telling me how to run my life. I'm an educated active adult and I see where you want to take my country - NO THANK YOU.

Hows that private jet we pay for that you waste all that jet fuel on every week to go see your family that won't live with you in DC? Guess they need a break from your shrill voice dictating to them too.

SAY NO to:

Socialized medicine

Big Gov't

High taxes

I'm keeping my thermostat at 72 for as long as I can pay my bill.

[HelmutHedd]

Modern day McCarthyism except the Senators are going after the 'oil profiteers' - these socialist political idiots are raping the citizen more than any oil company ever could.

[padude64]

Bush is a dickhead!

[wellssr]

When the government is telling U.S. Companies how to spend their profits, they might as well demand a seat on the board. Further the tax break enjoyed by oil is no different than other companies, but if Americans want to continue to enjoy access to energy, we had better enable these IOCs to compete with the NOCs that clearly the Democrats favor.  Maybe we'd all be better off if we let Chavez dictate our energy policy. Inslee is my rep. and I am ashamed.

[josh6132003]

I am a republican but I honestly feel good about seeing someone finally rip into these jerks who are taking food off the table of regular americans. I live in Maine where the average monthly income is 2000 per month for a two person family. Me and my wife spend 600 dollars per month for gasoline. In 2000 we would have only spent $80 per month. People here cant afford to work anymore because the jobs are too far away.

[wellssr]

Solution: Move closer to your job and with some of your savings start buying equity in big oil. Where as Americans are we promised low cost gas? Who profits the most off each gallon of gas sold, it's the Federal Government, maybe they should reign in their outrageous spending. As for your so called "jerks" these are the people out there providing the U.S. their beloved oil. What if they took their business to another country who appreciated it more? Try your commute on horseback.

[josh6132003]

You are obviously an oil lobbyst. Get off of youtube. NOt all americans live in the city. We live in a rural state and to tell us to move is ignorant.

[wellssr]

Refusing not to move is ignorant. I am not the one complaining about the cards I've been dealt in life, I went out and changed it.

[Listman11]

Then move closer to your work. We had to move from Korea to find work.

You and I both know Americans have been living beyond their means for a long time.

Since 1980, the efficiency of our automobiles have gone up by about 40%. What do the American publis do with that, they buy bigger cars and SUVs.

Do you know how to decrease the cost of gas, decrease the demand.

[Listman11]

I guess they will be bring in everyone getting goverment subsidies now.

Farmers, Dairy Farmers, Baseball teams, football teams, etc etc.

[muchlove03]

well done

[winklestraat]

Great job by Inslee! No more tax subsidies to oil companies.

[bootpdx]

Subsidies, subsidies, subsidies! Take them away. They don't need them.

[Listman11]

Hey shit for brains, where were you when oil was at $12 a barrel?

If oil prices went up from $25 to $110 and gas prices went up from $1.20 to $3.30, it seems gas prices has not even gone up as high as oil prices.

Idiots.

[Maverick2016]

So you're saying gas prices should be 5.28 and we should just be thankful that it's not, and continue to hand over 18 billion to show our gratitude? Really? Come on you don't really believe the oil companies are doing us some favor by allowing gas prices to be $3.30 do you? Look at their annual net profits man! You might say their empathy for the less fortunate American has not even gone up as high as the thickness of their wallets.

[Listman11]

No we should not provide subsidies but then don't provide subsidies to all companies. How do you feel when baseball players make $24 million a year and the teams get subsidies?

Also, go to Germany and see what the gas prices are ($8.50 a gallon).

If you want the prices to come down, you must either decrease demand or increase supply. Why not let them drill and build refineries (increase supply) and we build nuclear plants (decrease demand), so the prices fall?

[wellssr]

"Net Profits Man" that's some pretty serious vocabulary, but not necessarily the right indicator to indict Big Oil. Try "Profit Margins". Are you aware that 3 of the 5 largest companies in the U.S. are oil companies? Simply by their size they are going to have enormous profits, but look in terms of profit margins, you've got other companies truly "ripping" off the American people look at Microsoft or Starbucks for starters - that is if you don't believe in free markets.

[Maverick2016]

True profit margins are a better indicator of the allocations of net profits. But, in the case of Microsoft and Starbucks those are elastic goods, I can choose to do without them and I will not pay absolutely anything to have them; they are not absolutely necessary I can choose apple software or go to Caribou coffee instead. In essence I can choose who I get "ripped off" by.

[Maverick2016]

But oil is an inelastic good most people, including this country, can't do without it. We have no choice BUT to get ripped off. That's what upsets me. It's basically a collective monopoly and we have no choice but to shell out because our economy and our society demands that we function at a certain level and that level of function requires the use of oil. This is classic capitalism that has spun out of control and is hurting hard working Americans. I have a problem with that.

[Maverick2016]

I believe capitalism is the only way that a country can function fairly, but when price gouging is happening and the country as a whole is suffering at the hands of a few then I think something needs to be done.

[wellssr]

Nothing in your analysis of elasticities leads me to conclude that price gouging is occurring. And you still don't address the lower than average profit margin. Pricing gouging is an easy claim to make, but difficult to prove. Further shouldn't oil companies be compensated for the risks they take in foreign countries, Venezuela, Nigeria, Chad and Russia, these are not hospitable places to operate, especially with the threat of nationalization, what other businesses face these type of risks?

[Maverick2016]

Price gouging is easy to claim, but just as easy to define. Price gouging occurs when a few people that, in this case, belong to a collective monopoly get excessively wealthy while everyone from the upper middle class to the lower class suffers due to their fostering of the inflation of the price of a barrel of oil. Then you talk about compensations? Why? You seem to claim that it doesn't matter about the inelastic nature of oil, but then claim that oil companies should receive

[Maverick2016]

compensations for working in inhospitable places to gain access to this commodity that you seem to believe we can live without. So isn't that a risk they should just have to live with? I know this and that is that the American people cannot continue to pay the prices they are paying for oil in this country. Capitalism is great and I love that we are a capitalistic society, but it must be just capitalism and not monopolistic, including collective monopolies.

[wellssr]

Let's straighten things out: First, a collective monopoly would be an oligopoly. Secondly, the economic definition of a monopoly or oligopoly includes the power of the firm(s) to set prices. Clearly this is not the case as we have competition among existing firms and an enormous amount of foreign firms ready to enter the U.S. market if oligopolistic profits did exist. Thirdly, the attacks upon those who profit from Big Oil are ridiculous, I've already let you in on the secret, buy their stock.

[wellssr]

Fourthly, I wonder if you are a true Republican if you fail to understand the market's determination of an appropriate price for the risk oil companies take (we don't set that price, the markets do). As I mentioned before if there were obscene profits in oil (that far outweighed the risks) than why don't we have more entrants, large companies such as GE? Simple: because it's not like oil companies have a mint in which they print money. They work extremely hard for it.

[wellssr]

Finally, I am glad that we can agree that capitalism is the best economic policy for our country, but again I diverge in terms of prices Americans can/will pay. We see Europeans pay excessive prices for gas, which leads me to believe Americans can probably withstand $5/gallon. It may hurt those at the lower ends of the income scale, but as mentioned before cheap gas is not a God given right and those people who can't afford will have to change their life-styles.

[josh6132003]

If our econemy goes under what will we do then? What we really need is true patriots who own oil companys. Not greedy bastards. These are the same companys that bought the rights to automotive nmh batterys and then stopped making them even though they are proven to work and be safe. We need Americans to bite the bullet and not make so much freaking money. Do they realy need that new bently sitting in their driveway. I mean its ok to have one, but a new one every year? Its excessive.

[josh6132003]

Of course you would say that. You work for the oil company. The people who are raking in the doe are not working extremely hard for it. Your full of it. The people making all of the money and buying back stock from the public are in these 10000 dollar suits. The only thing they work hard at is hiring people like you to convince us that a product that is vital to our econemy should be as expensive as it is and there is nothing they can do about it.

[jhr384]

Yeah capitalism is the problem. How much do you think gas would cost if oil companies didn't pay such a ridiculous amount of taxes. Considering the governments share of oil companies' combined revenues are larger than all of the oil industry's profits makes me think our elected government is screwing us not the oil companies.