Oil Execs Finally Man Up

In the Senate on Wednesday the usual suspect grilled the oil execs from major firms again to day about their so-called excess profit. What make this a joke is either the Senators like Durbin and Leahy are totally stupid about the effects of supply and demand, you know basic Econ 101. Or are being totally dishonest in their presentation and questions as they are trying to demonize these companies. For My money it is a little of both. A few things to keep in mind are that 9% profit for a large international business is not unusual but should be expected. After all these are all publicly held companies and the stockholders want them to make money for dividends. Another thing to keep in mind is that oil companies make around 4% profit per gallon were taxes to the people who don’t do a thing to get gas into your tank the Fed and State governments averages 15%. The truth is want to drop the price of crude bring more supply to the market. These asshat’s in congress, mostly Democrats over the last 30 years have restricted drilling everywhere in U.S territory. Shoot if they actually want a free market let the government get out of the way and let these companies get to it instead of over regulating like they have for the last 100 plus years.
If you like 4 dollars a gallon thank a Democrat or a liberal from either side of the aisle. Below are some of the comments made in the hearing.

John Hofmeister, president of Shell. "The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work," said Hofmeister. The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.
In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. "I agree, it's not a free market," he said.
The executives pushed the idea that large parts of the U.S. that are currently closed to drilling - like sections of Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the continental shelf - should be opened.
"The place to start the free market is in our own country," said one executive. [The drilling ban] sets the stage for OPEC to do what we are doing in our own country, and that is effectively limiting supplies."
John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips, said Congress should enact a balanced energy policy. In addition to lifting the drilling ban, such a policy could include measures to encourage alternative energy sources, remove the ethanol tariff, promote energy conservation, cut regulations around refining.
"We must work together to find a real solution," said Lowe. "U.S. oil companies should be viewed not as scapegoats, but as assets."
The executives also named several things that Congress should not do, first among them being a hike in taxes or an undoing of the mergers of the late 1990s.
"Americans need companies that can effectively compete for access to new resources," said Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron. "Punitive measures that weakened us in the face of international competition are the wrong measures."
The executives also frowned on a recently passed House bill giving the Justice Department the power to sue OPEC, saying it would have little effect in boosting production