The Outrageous Truth About Oil & Gas

This graphic shows us just how out of control the Big Oil companies really are. These are the profits for the biggest five oil companies -- and yes I said PROFITS (the amount of money they are left holding after ALL of their expenses have been paid). And this is only for three months. To get the approximate yearly profit you would have to multiply these figures by four.

These are the same companies that are telling us they must have the federal government subsidies or they won't be able to survive. That is nothing less than an outrageous LIE! The above profits are without taking into account any government subsidies. The subsidies have nothing to do with their profits. They only cut drastically the amount of taxes they will have to pay on those profits.

Personally, I think if American workers are expected to pay income taxes on their paltry salaries then oil companies making from $12 billion to $40 billion a year in profits should be paying their full share of taxes also. You will hear them whine that they won't have the money to hunt for new oil resources if they have to pay their taxes, but that is another outrageous lie. The exploration for new oil is a business expense (and has already been subtracted). Once again, these are profits -- what is left after all expenses have been subtracted.

These are also the companies that keep raising the price of the gasoline we all must have for our autos. They tell us they will go broke if they don't raise those prices. Look again at the figures above, and then tell me if you believe that. They are nowhere near going broke. They just want to make even more money than the already record-breaking profits they currently make. It is not necessity, but greed that is driving up gas prices.

That brings us to one final lie being told by Big Oil (and their congressional Republican cohorts) -- that President Obama is to blame for the rising gas prices. That may be the most outrageous lie of all. Let's examine a few facts:
* No president (of either party) has any control over gas prices.
* The amount of foreign oil as a percentage of U.S. total oil consumption has fallen to a smaller percentage than in any year of the Bush administration.
* The number of drilling rigs currently operating is higher than in any year of the Bush administration.
* The number of permits for new drilling is currently higher than in any year of the Bush administration.

It is time to stop listening to the lies being spread by Big Oil (and their Republican lackeys).