Big oil vs Gilbert Arenas
WASHINGTON — Gilbert Arenas is accepting less money from the Washington Wizards, invoking an attitude far, far removed from the world of his working-class fans.
“What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can’t do with $111 million?” he told The Washington Post.
Big Oil has record profits. It’s not their fault because the price of crude has gone up. People are willing to pay more for what they pull out of the ground.
But, do they still have to charge more? Or maybe still charge more, but put more into Research and Development (that takes away from the bottom line and moves us to the future).
I don’t expect Big Oil to give up profits and I certainly don’t think it’s an obligation. I truly believe in people’s right to make as much money as they can. But on an individual basis, like Agent 0, do we need all that much profit?
Is greed still good?
(As an aside, not being a Christian or particularly religious at all, WWJD with all his profits?)
We live in a capitalist society. No one should have to give up what they earn.
invest in the future to make this country a better place for our kids. not try to p ut a bandaid on an open wound…
When Warren Buffet designed the Estonian financial plan. (which BTW is working just fine) He provided for corporations to reinvest in Estonia as an option to taxes.
I think that is the old use it or loose it scenario
As a commoner, I’d say don’t chance luck… invest your money into “Big Oil.” It appears they have a product that everyone wants. Why not get “cash back” on all of your gasoline purchases?
“Big Oil has record profits. It’s not their fault….”.
I don’t agree. I believe that the men, behind the oil industries, have been using more of their profits to drive the price of crude up, through market speculation, than they have been spending on exploration.
“People are willing to pay more for what they pull out of the ground.”
Again, I do not agree. I don’t think people have any choice, BUT to pay the price that the oil industry dictates. And consumption has gone down as the price has risen. My town was beginning to look like a ghost town a couple of weeks ago, when gas went above $4.05/gallon.
We are not going to stop the greed of the men who own the oil industry. But, we can demand that our government stop subsidizing their greed. Socialism of cost and capitalism of profit is the oil industry credo.
First of all, if you want oil companies to invest in producing more oil then you can’t take away the profits they need to do that with. That’s basic supply and demand. Also, keep in mind that projects such as oil shales and oil sands are not economic unless they can make $100+ a barrel. This is because the costs to produce that oil are much greater than more conventional projects. But if you are serious about increasing supply those kinds of projects are what we need to do it.
Second of all, oil companies are putting a lot of mone into R&D because they want to be leaders of alternative technologies. That’s good business. But you have to remember that their primary responsibility is to produce value for their shareholders. So it’s really a ridiculous idea to force them to invest money in projects that may not work in the end. These companies are investing based on whether they think the ideas will work. If they don’t work then they will have blown all that money.
Third, did we help out the oil companies when oil was $12 a barrel and they were losing money on their investments? I don’t think so. So if they took all the risk back then, why do we have the right to take away their profits when these risks they’ve taken have paid off?
Fourth, it’s probably also worth mentioning that you can only tax companies that operate in the US. So the only thing this kind of taxation would do is cause the oil companies to take their billions and invest them elsewhere.
Whodatyat: Thanks for your completely ignorant response. Go look at oil companies financial statements and look at how much they spend on new investment, and then look at how much they spend on stock buy backs. The balance is hugely in favor of new investment. Either way, there is nothing wrong with stock buy backs, especially because when you really think about it, it’s really a a way of deferring investment for the future. But you’re probably a finance wizard that already knew that so I feel a little silly explaning it.
No one is forcing you to buy gas. There are plenty of things you can do or not do to reduce your gas purchases.