Big Oil Companies Making Huge Profits

As you probably know, most of the giant oil companies paid very little in income taxes for last year and some, like ExxonMobil, paid no income taxes at all -- they actually got a tax rebate of several million dollars from the federal government. One reason these giant corporations pay little or nothing in taxes is because they get government subsidies and tax breaks. But do they really need those subsidies and tax breaks, especially in light of the deficit and the millions of Americans who have been hurt by the recession and need government programs to keep their heads above water?

The short answer is no, they don't need those government giveaways. This is easily borne out by the profit figures of the five largest oil companies. These companies are earning billions of dollars in profit (and yes, I said profit -- the amount they have left after all expenses are accounted for). Here are the profits recorded for the five biggest oil companies in just the first three quarters of this year:

ExxonMobil...............$31.66 billion
Shell...............$24.41 billion
Chevron...............$21.78 billion
BP...............$15.93 billion
ConocoPhillips...............$9.06 billion

All together...............$102.85 billion (in only three quarters)

And even though they are registering profits like that for a year that's not even over, the Republicans and their blue dog buddies want to give these same corporations even more tax cuts (and protect the unneeded subsidies). Ridiculous. A worker earning the median American income of about $50,000 (before expenses are deducted) will have to pay some income tax, but most (or all) of these corporations will not. Does that even approah the realm of "economic fairness"?

But don't expect Congress to make these corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Most members of Congress are members of the 1% class, and wouldn't dare make their rich buddies pay taxes -- not to mention that too many congressmen/women own shares of stock in these companies and get a ton of money from them in contributions.

Looking at this, it becomes very clear why the Occupy Wall Street movement is badly needed in this country.