When you cannot attack the logic, attack the messenger, ad hominem. The guy took home $686M dollars during a time when the nation was reeling from Katrina and the Iraq war. That's a fact.
You presented no logic in that post. You posted a link to a picture of the former CEO and proceeded to ask if based on the picture of a fat guy do I still feel ok about my argument? Yes I do. Also your argument was addressed in this post multiple times before I'm posting this, so no need to further explain your flawed logic. If anyone in this thread is a windbag ideologue it's you. Ps. Don't pull out a fallacy card, when you were guilty of committing the same logical fallacy in the post I quoted from you.
uh...yeh, i read it. no one directly said they had a right to gasoline. you are just assuming that is what they meant. oh.... sounds like you read something "into" the thread.
Right, they
implied that they have a right to gasoline. They also imply that they have the right to cheap gasoline. That's WHY people are mad, because they think gasoline must be cheaper, and they think because they "need" it to live their lives that they have a right to have it. It's implied logic, a very simple concept.
i said, "the holier than thou attitude of a select few in this thread amazes me"
that would seem i am referring to more than you.
Yes, I understand that. I was addressing your inclusion of me in that group of people.
I can only speak for myself, but I understand why these record profits are being made. I also understand that while they go home with fat wallets my purse is shrinking. I have a right to be pissed about that scenerio no matter how much you want to justify it as free enterprise.
Record profits are being made in part because of
record usage. That is a direct correlation. You have all the right in the world to be pissed off, but you don't have the right to justify your anger by blaming it on oil companies (or any company for that matter) for making money. Why arn't you pissed off at NEW YORK STATE, who has incredibly high gas taxes. Why arn't you pissed at arab nations who set very high prices for a barrel of oil?
I disagree. I am speaking of those of you who feel the need to talk down to us time and time again and in thread after thread. That's where the pedestal perching comes in.
How are you figuring I use SO MUCH gas again? you have no idea.
Well thoes people typically make very logical and educated points. I know you are talking about Amused, because you always go at it with him in threads. I rarely see him attack you personally, insult you, or look down at you as an inferior person. He addresses the points you are making with clear concise thoughts/opinions that really do not come off as being condescending. I think much of it has to do with how you feel when you're proven logically wrong, and you know it, but you don't want to admit it. Since your argument isn't being accepted you feel as if someone is looking down at you, which really isn't the case. Also an observation, you argue with emotion, Amused argues with logic, it's classic man vs. woman.
This thread is a good example of that. You opened your posting with an emotion driven argument on a topic that you (apparently, due to inquires) know little about, then logical arguments were made with numbers involved, you continued to counterpoint with emotion driven argument. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but the thread is really about economics.
I never implied you used a lot of gasoline. "They" is referring to our society as a whole, I never directly said "mosh,
you use a lot of gasoline. As an American you are part of the group of the most ravenous consumers on the planet, and so am I. We use
A LOT of gasoline over here and we really don't want to stop, no matter what anyone says.
what have i said that was ignorant in this thread?
I just think that your lack of understanding of how the economics of oil works leads you to believe media hype that you're getting "screwed" at the pump. You claim that you need gasoline, and you're probably right, but you need a lot of things, do you bitch so vehemently about these other things and think you're getting screwed? No matter which way you want to look at it the reality is it boils down to economics. Oil companies havn't changed the way they do business much at all, though oil prices and taxes have risen. So your anger is completely misdirected. What do you want these companies to do, cut a few percent from their already low profit margins of 10%? Will it make you feel better if they don't make billions of dollars and gas prices are only a few cents cheaper? These companies made a lot of money because people are using a lot of gas, capiche? Your ignorance of oil economics directly correlates with your anger. Your whole argument seems to be. "I'm mad because I have to pay money for something I need, and the price keeps going up!". Well ok, that's reality, and there isn't much more to that argument than that statement. I'm not sure how you can stretch that point beyond a couple posts.
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: Amused
Profit margins are everything when spurious claims of gouging are thrown about.
what if they are gouging but they're blowing the money on crap instead of giving it to the shareholders?
To quote the article posted:
"Exxon said spending on exploration and production rose 8 percent in the quarter, to $4.9 billion, while overall output rose 6 percent."
"Gheit said the company sent $7.9 billion back to shareholders in the second quarter in the form of dividends and stock buybacks."
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