Exxon/Mobile profit soars

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Why do leftists always try to say making a profit is a bad, evil, underhanded thing? Hello! If companies didn't make profits then we'd crash and burn the way the Soviet Union did and the way China's state owned industries currently are.

In my experience, paraphrased:

"If companies are making huge profits they can surely afford to reduce their prices without losing money. Why then do they charge so much and rip off people for their products?"

Making profits isn't bad, making excessive* profits is what is most disliked.

*I won't try and define excessive, it depends on your point of view.

[Sten Sture]

When we talk about 'excessive' profits, lets remember to do so in terms of proportion to sales. Oil companies are frequent targets of 'excessive' profits, when their commodity business generates just a little bit of profit relative to their sales.

A few weeks ago, I posted the profits per dollar of sales for a couple of companies, and Microsoft was the only one that really generated a big % number. Most major corporations only generate about 5% profit for each dollar of sales.

[Sava]

Big Crunch

[JohnT]

Define "excessive"

If you are going to define excessive as "more money than I know how to spend", then pretty much any company that is profitable makes "excessive" profits, immediately rendering any discussion on this point useless.

If, otoh, you're more rational about it and define it as "exceeding x% of total sales" then that's still subjective, but at least we have a basis for argument.

Sure the oil company's make more than I know how to spend. But given that their profit margins are only 7.5% you can't even make that case because, hell, Rockefeller would've done better had he just closed up Standard Oil and invested all that money in the DJIA.

[Sava]

I'll say corporate profits aren't excessive when there aren't millions in this country living in poverty.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Big Crunch
*I won't try and define excessive, it depends on your point of view.

And there in lays the crux.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Sava
I'll say corporate profits aren't excessive when there aren't millions in this country living in poverty.

Well, given that we aren't even speaking the same language, I'm bowing out. See-ya!

[Sava]

Bye!

[Sten Sture]

Do the Cubbies turn a profit?

[Sava]

Yes... not winning a World Series has been very lucrative.

[Sten Sture]

And I think they sell the Old Style for more than it costs to make that stuff!

[Sava]

It's terrible beer.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Oerdin


And there in lays the crux.

Only if you dismiss the issue. If you discuss what people conceive of as excessive you might understand where people are coming from, and whether they are loony lefties or logical lefties.

They may give you an example of excessive profit that you agree with. DO you consider a cartel to be a form of profiteering? How about other price fixing tactics? What do you think of hidden charges? Think of some more yourself as an exercise.

[TCO]

Originally posted by Big Crunch


Only if you dismiss the issue. If you discuss what people conceive of as excessive you might understand where people are coming from, and whether they are loony lefties or logical lefties.

They may give you an example of excessive profit that you agree with. DO you consider a cartel to be a form of profiteering? How about other price fixing tactics? What do you think of hidden charges? Think of some more yourself as an exercise.

Sure, granted. But this is SAva we are talking about. He already showed his cluelessness on the tax/subsidy issue. And for sure, he hasn't thought to the extent of realizing that this business is cyclical, and thus there will be times of high profits and low. And so, he has to look at more than a quarter.

[Sava]

Sure GP, so I must be wrong that the subsidies are lowering prices.

The study I quoted was from 1981 to 1995. The Exxon/Mobil situation just caught my eye since it is related to the subsidies issue. But go ahead, continue your baseless ad hominem attacks. I'll just sit back and laugh at your idiocy.