Come on Dave..I bail out my kids all the time...that's what dads do.

Maybe I can put a sail on my boat?

GP: I agree about bailing out the kids. But I suspect mine are not planning on becoming the leaders of the free world. ( God, I hope not.)

As for the sail, nope I doubt that will help much. But I know I could drive my car more often VS the truck. I could drive a bit slower. I could encourage my congressman to support higher CAFE standards. And I could plan my trips more efficiently.

I wonder if we were all to consider better use of fossil fuels as more patriotic if things might change a bit? Or maybe higher prices will do all that for us. I read yesterday that prices on used SUVs are dropping and that there is a six-month wait for the Honda hybrid cars.

I heard about the longwait for those hybrids...Also talked to a friend who had a similar Suburban to mine and he got $14K on a trade....He did buy a new Suburban,too. I might have to hang on to my other 4x4..Kids have all the nice fuel efficient cars. go figure.


By the way....I think my youngest just might grow up to rule the free world someday....Then they can write about her and how her dad bailed her out of jams all the time.

"She has NO character...why back in 04 her dad paid her cell phone bill....and bought her a car."

We could save millions of gallons of gasoline daily by just inflating our tires to the correct pressure, and easing up just a little on the accelerator at stop lights and signs.

But since it makes little difference to us personally, most of us won't even do that. It's like litterers........they figure one little piece of garbage won't hurt, and it won't. But combine that with 3 million other little pieces of garbage and you get our highways.

So, anyway..........

Grandpa,

I know you didn't care for Jimmy Carter, but I gotta' call ya' on that one. The Arab oil embargo and gas price hikes occurred in 1973 and 1974. Carter was elected in 1976 and took office in January 1977. If you need a president to blame, how about hanging it on your old buddies Nixon and Ford, for the sake of accuracy?

You pay your daughter's cell phone bill and buy her a car? Another difference between us I observe and find amusing. I never bail out my kids, thereby depriving them of valuable learning opportunities. But I did send them to high quality universities so they could learn to take care of themselves. Just made more sense to me.

Personally, I don't much care what the price of gas goes to, except for the adverse effect high energy prices typically have had on the national economy. I'll just ride my bike more.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

H20,

The thread is titled typical Texas Republican if you look at it the whole first page has been deleted even the original post. So if I deleted my post the every one deleted thiers as well including you and AM.

I think mine went like this. I have 4 widows in my family from wars so do't tell me about sacrifice. for the record.

KK,

On those profits as the dollar volume of sales increases would not the dollar volume of profit increae in proportion? Or are you saying that the historical avg. profit margin has increased? I do nto think you can show that can you?

So King - What you're saying is that American consumers have TRIPLED their gas consumption this year over last year... and that these huge profits for the oil companies are the result???

Organic economics again I presume...

4salt,

No! those are pre tax earnings and pre write down,and net and gross earnings combined in a way intended to make the profits seem higher than in the past. Numbers and statistics are all about how you present them the truth lies in the ORGANIC anylysis called GAP, "Generally accepted account procedures." Profit is bottom line after all deductions. So profits may very well be up but no one has shown such and the 10 year avg. shows less profit than many retail business' in this country. It's easy for the ill informed to delare victory off of un substantiated facts or truth.

So King, did you get a financial report and do your own math or are you just speaking in generalities?

Jeff,

I am saying that no one has shown that the oil companies are raking in record bottom line profits and they may very well be. What I have seen is a compendium report by KK that shows one companys pre tax , non charged profits, Another that shows gross profits and antoher that shows record revenues. All are completely different things and cannot add up to the sum of raping the people. The forcast I have from several investment sources show that the net profits are targeted to be at or near the 10 year avg. Which as a 5 are below, Microsoft, Walmart,krispy Kreme etc. Not exactly raping the public IMHO.

The only thing being posted does however fit the general perception that Bush is in bed with big oil and doing what ever he can to benefit big oil. none of it however adds up to that conclusion and is there fore speculation and propaganda.

I don't think comparing the oil companies with other companies such as Walmart, MS, Krispy Kreme, et al, is fair.

Many people never enter those stores or use any of those products, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that does not depend on petroleum products for their livlihood. Even on small organic communes in Fall City.

Oil companies have Americans by the proverbial balls, and they know it.

"It's easy for the ill informed to delare victory off of un substantiated facts or truth."

GAAP = Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Besides any "bottom line" earnings you might see from conglomerates is hardly a gage on one aspect of their business. It is easy with lax accounting rules, one time charges, depreciation, executive pay plans, etc to show a loss on record revenues.
TK, you have yet to show the flat profit margin American oil companies are supposedly stifled with.

Stlhd,

I showed it 4 days ago.

The link TK.
Your word only tends to not be too accurate.

A stock ticker from MSN?
On your link click news and then the second item for Zacks and you will find:

ChevronTexaco Corporation CVX is engaged in every aspect of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transportation; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. The high oil and gas prices don't seem to be hurting companies like Chevron Texaco. Last month CVX announced record net income of $2.6 billion for the first quarter 2004, compared with net income of $1.9 billion in the year-ago period. The company discussed the successful quarter by saying "All of our major businesses contributed to an excellent first quarter, with profits that helped us achieve a 17% return on capital employed for the past 12 months." Since the beginning of the year the company also reduced their debt and contributed more than $500 million to their employee pension plans. Four top brokerage firms believe CVX is moving aggressively on several fronts to increase the value of the company for their stockholders and are recommending CVX on their Focus Lists.

Stlhd, is what you are right?

Try and stay focused I know it' s hard with a topic you have no concept of. Your accusation was that the oil companies were raping the consumers. I posted info that stated that profit marigins were flat on a 5 and 10 year avg. and lower than many major retail industries. You asked for a link I gave it and it supprts what I posted. It's even from a different source than the one I used because my investment info is not online.

That site shows this ( this is the important part so read slow)

·
Sales & Income Growth (past 12 months) Company Industry
Sales Growth 7.50% 10.70%
Income Growth 21.10% -5.10%

· CHEVRONTEXACO CORP one-year net profit margin: 6.8%
Difference from the company's 5-year average net profit margin: 2.0 pct. pts.
Difference from the average for the Major Integrated Oil & Gas group: 0.3 pct. pts.
Net profit margins (%)
Company 6.8%
Company 5-Yr Avg. 4.8%
Industry 6.5%


In summary
That the industry 5 year avg profit margin is 6.5%
that the industry income growth on a 5 year avg. is-5%
That the sales are up 10.7%

All added up does not point to any raping of the consumer.

So continue to change the subject and balather about gallons vs barrels and continue to show your ignorance in financial matters in fact and by your support of programs pushed by the DNC of which you have no hope of understanding before the election if at all.

Well King it's official...you just don't get even what you yourself are talking about. So I can only guess at what it is you have been trying to say. It would seem that you are trying to say that the cost of producing a barrel of oil goes up with the selling price. Which, if that were true, then the profit margin this year will remain flat. Sadly it's not true. Sorry. I still stand by my "accusation". A close analysis of this years end financials will tell the tale.