All you coal producers in Ohio and Pennsylvania, listen up good. Barack Obama wants to “bankrupt” your companies and put you permanently out of work.
Energy
What is Tennessee’s Senator, Bob Corker, Doing? Selling us Out, That’s What!
-By Warner Todd Huston
Ken Marerro over at Blue Collar Muse has a nice round down on the low down of the guy living down to expectations, Bob Corker (R, Tenn.). It appears that Senator Corker is selling down the river the erstwhile GOP House members who made such a strong stand on energy last week. Corker is signing onto a Senate energy bill that is little else but a GIANT give away to the Democrats.
A friend emailed me about Bob Corker’s involvement in the Gang of 10. He asked, “What is Corker doing?” To quote Bob Corker himself, he is doing “…exactly what I came to the Senate to do.” To the host of Tennesseans who bemoaned the choice of Corker over Ed Bryant as our Senate choice in 2006, he’s doing exactly what we feared. In fairness, for two years Corker has been a pleasant surprise. However, he couldn’t have picked a worse time to begin living down to our expectations.
Just like GOP Senators in the Gang of 14 and judicial nominees, Republicans in Energy’s Gang of 10 are undermining GOP leadership and strategy. Mitch McConnell and GOP leaders have worked this issue for months with the backing of Republicans and Democrats; legislators and voters. Pressure was mounting on Democrats to surrender their sellout of Americans. Gas and oil prices were falling. Support for Energy Independence via drilling and R&D for alternative and renewable energy sources was growing. It seemed inevitable the GOP would get their vote and sooner rather than later. Now, thanks to meddling by Corker, instead of continuing to exploit flaws in Democratic policies, Senate GOP leaders might be forced to regroup and decide if they can even continue in the face of the Gang’s treachery.
It gets worse, of course. Hit up the Blue Collar Muse for the rest of this infuriating tale of Republicans that are more like… well, they are RINOs, let’s face it.
How Many Democrats Are Trying to Pass an Energy Bill… How About ZERO
A nice five week vacation sounds nice to Democrats who’d rather be taking it easy instead of passing the energy bill in the House of Representatives. Yes, while we are paying $4 a gallon and more, Democrats decided it would be cool to go on a “well deserved” vacation.
What About Those Oil Companies and Their Big Profits?
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Wall Street Journal had a pertinent piece on August 4 that bears some repeating. In it they asked “What is a ‘windfall’ profit anyway?” and provided some much needed context about the money that oil companies make.
On Aug 6, Obama made an amazing policy suggestion. He said that the government should actually confiscate money from private businesses and redistribute that money, giving it away like welfare! This is pure, socialist, redistribution of profits. It is also as anti-American as you can get.
So, the Journal made some pertinent points to ponder about just what the oil company profits are and how they measure against other industries.
First of all, the Journal notes that Exxon, for instance, paid an enormous amount of taxes. “Between 2003 and 2007, Exxon paid $64.7 billion in U.S. taxes, exceeding its after-tax U.S. earnings by more than $19 billion.”
According to the WSJ, here were some more facts about Exxon’s “obscene” profits:
Exxon’s 2007 profit margin = 10%
Here are the profit margins of some of our other industries and companies:
- Areospace Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 8.2%
- U.S. Manufacturing Sector’s 2007 profit margin = 8.9%
- GE’s 2007 profit margin = 10.3%
- Berkshire Hathaway Investors = 11.47%
- Chemicals Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 12.7%
- Computers Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 13.7%
- Electronics and appliances Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 14.5%
- Pharmaceuticals Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 18.4%
- beverages and tobacco Industry’s 2007 profit margin = 19.1%
- Google’s 2007 profit margin = 25.3%
Want “obscene” profits? How about electronics company LG that saw profits increase 505% in 2007? Maybe we should lay low the evil profits from Abbot Laboratories that saw a 110% increase?
So, why are we attacking just the oil companies again? Could it be that it’s just because the Democrats want a whipping boy? Why, yes. Yes it could be.
Continue reading “What About Those Oil Companies and Their Big Profits?”