< HOME  Saturday, April 29, 2006

‘Big Oil’ Has America Over A Barrel

And they're unapologetic. They have an 'inalienable right' to charge consumers whatever price the market (they control) will bear. And boy are they exercising it.
[According to the CIA,] the combined first-quarter revenue of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips totaled $191.5 billion — more than the individual gross domestic products of 189 different countries, including the likes of Chile, Denmark, Peru and Venezuela[.]
That's right. Exxon outdoes Kuwait, Exxon-Chevron-Conoco outshines Venezuela . . .
[a] founding member of OPEC and [the] fourth-largest supplier of U.S. oil imports in 2005.
. . . and 188 other countries! These guys are HUGE! They're like Nation-states! How on earth did they come by all this power??? Merit? Hah!

But they're not only powerful, they're arrogant.

They shamelessly try to convince us that - according to their religion - it's their divine right to make tons of money while the rest of us either pay for the privilege of using their resources or suffer the consequence of living without it.
There's little that either lawmakers or the industry can do in the short-term about the high oil prices that yielded those profits, however, as long as energy markets stay tense and the global economy is expanding. Instead, it would take a decision by consumers and businesses to consume less fuel, a choice they have yet to make, analysts said.
Poor 'Big Oil.' There's nothing they can do. Profits are foisted upon them by hoards of consumer-masochists, who mercilessly bring it upon themselves.

After all, Big Oil worked hard (in concert with eachother and with bankers) to GET what we NEED. (Sound familiar?)

So, it's only fair that if we want to live in the 21st century, we must pay them for the privilege, or get used to living in the stone age. Those are the rules of the game.
[E]lected officials are doing a public disservice by not doing a better job of explaining how the global oil market works.

"It's late in the game," said Antoine Halff, director of global oil at Fimat USA in New York. "The only policy changes that would have an immediate effect would be demand restraints, such as increases in gasoline taxes, alternate driving days or enforcement of speed limits." Halff does not consider any of these will be suggested in Congress, especially during an election year.

I have news for you - Antoine - it's never too late to establish justice. There are plenty of measures against Big Oil that CAN get passed in Congress, ESPECIALLY in an election year.

Property and tax laws are legal constructs - NOT 'immutable rights.'

They're designed to yield the greatest possible benefits for the largest number of people. When they fail to meet those goals as routinely and as miserably as the current regime has failed they can and MUST be dismantled just as they were constructed.

But, that's not the picture Big Oil and their corporate media minions want to paint. According to them, it's consumers who must sacrifice and even then they may never see the fruits of their labor.

[I]t may take years before changes in consumer behavior affect the market.

"In the meantime, you as a consumer have three options," said Ebel of CSIS. "You have car keys, light switches and a thermostat. Use them judiciously.

In other words, you want oil? Bend over. Big Oil provides the lubricant, consumers get screwed.

Wakeup, America. They have us over a barrel of our own making. It's up to us to demand our rightful share of God's earth at a fair price.

13 Comments:

At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Blogger Bill said...

And big China has us by the short hairs!


http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news
/06/0417/art1.html

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Big Oil" is not the problem. If you tax their profits, they will just cook their books, and their 'profits' will disappear. The pension funds that own the oil stocks will then lose money, and the 'working man' gets screwed again.

Let's face it folks, we're just serfs. Be glad they let us have any gas at all.

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

Who said anything about taxes???

That's the last thing we need, give those bafoons in our government more money to pay to Halliburton for DU munitions and to bankers in interest. HELL NO!

We need to turn the energy industry into a non-profit community-based private industry and do the same with healthcare, banking, and insurance.

But, first we must start with the MONETARY SYSTEM.

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Foundation Of Monopoly: Subjectivism
(Mighty Thor, 30 Apr 06)

This blog is interesting commentary under subject of monopoly, featuring specifically that of "big oil"--which is so often bad as it is consequence of fascist law, subjectivist rule, wherein a faction, like a plutocracy, like the Judeo-oligarchs behind the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) countefeiting conspiracy, operates in oligarchic dictatorship and tyranny, presently prosecuting ruthless, bloody, and insanely destructive Orwellian "perpetual war for perp. peace."

The key to monopoly subject is subjectivist law, actually no law at all, as law is properly objective. Such objective law then sees to the natural justice among the citizens.

Hence above blog commentary is totally, absolutely, and verifiably false, according to American Declaration of Independence, where it says "Property" is mere "...legal contructs--NOT 'immutable rights.'"

Property then is one of the Jeffersonian natural, hence "immutable" rights which was only substituted at last moment by "pursuit of happiness" phrase.

Next, blog posting states, "They're [presumably referring to above 'property' and laws] designed to yield the greatest possible benefits for the largest number of people"--which is mere childish recitation of English utilitarianism and communist altruism, utter balderdash against natural rights and freedom which is what American founders proclaimed explicitly time and again.

The key then, both culturally and politically is re-affirmation of rule-of-law and objectivity according to natural rights and freedom, hence naturally and logically the removal of such crass criminal fraud as the Fed counterfeiting scam, foundation of all consequent monopolization, including that of "big oil."

Analysis of the issue (Justice, hence civilization versus monopoly) is really too simple as rule-of-law AUTOMATICALLY over-rules such crass criminal fraud and counterfeiting scam like the Fed, that sublime point of reference by which the present world in Spengler's "Decline of the West" so much depends and totters.

Hence the obvious political-military target is to destroy and abolish the Fed, the obligatory "monetary collapse" actually then the greatest opportunity for freedom and a fresh new start for rule-of-law, instead of rule of Jews, fascists, conspirators, and criminals.

CONCLUSION: Note even the longest journey must start with small increments--and one simple and most effective one is reversion to original method of election of US Senators--by state legislatures. Honest elections and death to the Fed. Thor

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

While I agree that "big oil" profits are obscene, I disagree regarding their entitlement to them.
Every company goes to market in order to make a profit. Profit is not a dirty word. However, other industries are not scrutinized to the extent that big oil is. Take for example banking. Banks make huge amounts of profits. What do they do to deserve them? At least big oil needs to spend money on infrastructure and research, banks don't even need to do that.

To get back to my initial statement: I agree that big oil profits are obscene. Here's what needs to be done to fix the problem:

1] In the short-term, stop invading sovereign countries. Keep the price of oil low, and there'll be less justification for big oil to raise prices
2] While the price of oil is maintained at a lower level through tactic #1, research alternatives. In the history of humankind, we have ALWAYS risen to the task. Necessity is the mother of invention. I refuse to accept that oil is the end-all and be-all of civilization.

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

thor, thanks for your comment. I should clarify my position.

Just because I call "property law" a legal construct does not mean that there isn't a natural place for property law in human civilization - one ordained by God.

So, I DO NOT think that property laws should be abolished. I only meant to point out that man's relationship with every inanimate object around him is necessarily one that requires acknowledgement by others. Obviously, no one goes to the grave with anything but their own soul.

Also, I do not promote utilitarianism because, unlike a utilitarian, I would never advocate sacrificing one person for "the good of all mankind." That's an evil fallacy. I meant the general welfare achieved by following principles that protect indvidual rights.

Essentially, there is no sacrifice involved in breaking up monopolies and confiscating the ill-gotten property of these criminal oil barrons as all their assets were acquired through monetary fraud - as you correctly point out.

Thus, since these bastards screwed up big time - a reorganization of the energy industry is in order - one in which communities can benefit equally and honestly from the earth's mineral resources.

To put it another way, if I had thought that these people had honestly "earned" the property that they hold, I would never advocate confiscating it from them - even if it was considerable. Fact is, though, no one could possibly amass such gargantuan fortunes without employing some kind of fraud.

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

anon, 4;39, you think I don't rail against banks???

you must not know me too well...:)

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rule-Of-Law Outlaws Jews
(Mighty Thor, 30 Apr 06)

Okay then, answer for cultural reform is objectivistic rule-of-law, state's rights, removal of Fed fraud.

Most pertinently, rule-of-law automatically outlaws Jews, advocates of subjectivist non-law (like "hate-crime" and holohoax). For Jews worship anti-law, featuring such as the Talmudic "Kol Nidre" prayer by which they religiously lie to gentiles (as well as themselves), pretending God is their slave, serving them in their subjectivist universe. Honest elections and death to the Fed. Thor

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The path to whirled peas lies along recognizing your own level of participation in the 'petroleum economy', and what you're doing, if anything, to try and reduce that participation. Everytime you use a piece of plastic, think about it. Everytime you fire up the car, think about it. You most likely have polyester clothes, polyester furniture coverings, plastic containers and appliances.
What heats your home? How hot do you keep your home/how cool? These and other points help develop a better comprehension of where we're at with the whole debate on energy and oil. We have to be smarter about what we use and use less overall, if we could reduce our national use by a million barrels a day that by itself would help calm the waters around the world. Support alternatives, support things like windmills, help america get unhooked off oil!

 
At Sunday, April 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.eaaev.org/

Plug in electric vehicles will help. Off the shelf technology, cheaper than gas engines.

 
At Monday, May 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The only course of action at this point is to nationalize the oil industry. Even with the inevitable government inefficiency that would follow, it would be better than what is going on now. You cannot leave an industry that is so vital to ALL of us in the hands of private enterprise. They do not compete in the marketplace, there is no substitute for their product, and their product is an inelastic one.

 
At Monday, May 01, 2006, Blogger Unknown said...

well said.
The inefficiencies of accountable people are better than the 'efficiency' of unaccountable corporations.

JK Galbraith died yesterday. He was an iconoclast - and he said in 2002 that corporations were becoming too complex to be monitored.

No one outside these companies, and I repeat no one, knows the inner workings of the oil spot market - that sets oil prices.

 
At Monday, May 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alternative To "Nationalizing"?--Surely
(Mighty Thor1 May 06)

Other things, at least as practical as "nationalizing," can be done for improvement of culture, esp. in way of rule-of-law, including especially the monetary system.

Improving rule-of-law will result in antisemitism which anti-antisemites will obligatorily attack.

Nonetheless, rule-of-law will do most and best to save the people, removing the disease which consists not only of the conspiratorial Jew, but also the gentile accomplices therewith. That common conspiratorial interest is subjectivism, especially in guise as moralism and heresy. Honest elections and death to the Fed. Thor

 

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