Frequency

True, but if they took only 8%, they could pay for everybody's internet. I mean EVERYBODYS, like... globally! Let's talk economics...

Frequency

Agreed

If I work 70+ hours a week and employ a lot of people, shouldn't I pay LESS taxes???

( not wealthy, just aspiring... )

Indy

It means you should pay your fair share just like everybody else and every company SHOULD. No free rides...right?

yahoo

If you think they make too much money, buy there stock. That way you can share in the profit.

Also price fixing was tried. I believe it was one of the "best" presidents we ever had Carter. Go back and read the history on that.

Two of the biggest oil/natural gas finds just happened, we are only about 10 years from energy independence.

Also most of the oil in the world is controlled by foreign govts, not oil companies.

Out There

Yes. Hedge funds/investors/speculators are playing these markets and running them up and down while never having the ability to take delivery on what they are bidding on. Happening now with many commodities.

soldier4402

No your no different than anybody else.

Donzi Dude

You want cheeper gas prices?
Drill baby drill !
Your all have a chance to vote for lower gas prices next year.

soldier4402

Dont think that is going to matter. We saw 3 and 4 bucks a gallon under bush, no different now, no different later. Your silly to think a President is going to change gas prices.

36Tango

In a true free market scenario there are many suppliers. As consolidation occurs over time (in any industry), few suppliers control more and more of the market and have the ability to begin to manipulate prices, either through pricing itself, or constricting the supply leading to higher prices. I am a free market guy, but in many industries, as soon as on oligopoly occurs, it is time for that industry to have some type of controls put upon it. Lack of doing so can be cause for hardship on parts or even the entire economy, along with even some national security issues.

15 years ago, I was more of a proponent of keeping the government out of markets, but I think that time has shown that few controls fuel greed, and greed can be the root of what tears down an economy. Wall street, hedge funds, banking, accounting, and mortgage lending are all examples of industries that were once on a pedestal but rampant greed has spoiled that (much like oil companies). Now I do not trust the system at all, and I think that the government should have far deeper oversight in order to put some credibility back into it. Without credibility, markets (our economy) will continue to deteriorate.

soldier4402

Well said. The govt does not need it hands into it. But with that said a resource like energy that fuels a country in many different ways should not be left up to a small group of greedy businessmen. Now there will always be some level of greed dont matter who is in charge. But greed and the idea of let it be is what has destroyed this country over the last ten years. To many things were left unchecked and left to the markets free will. Which is fine but many took advantage of this and drove the economy into the ground. Were at the point now that it's going to take us ten years to get back to where we were, and it doesnt matter if a dem, repub, Obama is president this term or even the next things are not going to do a 180. I will give Obama credit for this, he probably hasn't done what he promised but he has at least stopped the bleeding, not saying the wound his healed, but the major bleeding has stopped. I firmly beleive this country will never be the power it once was again, which maybe isn't necessarily a bad thing.

One of the major contributors to our problems was peoples own poor personal choices in borrowing and banks lending money to these tards that want 300-400k homes who make 50-70k a year or people out buying new cars every other year. Personally it might hurt sales but it will drive up invesments and savings, is to put prime interest rate at about 10%, at that rate people who cant afford chit will stop buying it. This attitude isn't only on the personal level it's from the top down. You take away the two worthless wars we got ourselves into, and borrowing/lending on all levels is our major problem. You have our government paying for wars where we get no economic return(usually thats what wars are about) and pay for them with borrowed money. But then go to personal side, you have guys putting 20-30 year loans on boats on this website, since when is that a good frign idea, after 3-4 years you will be upside down on the thing forever and end up paying double what the boat was initially worth. All because you couldnt afford it but had to have it and the greedy banks were more than willing to take a chance on it.

I don't know one person that likes pay 4 bucks a gallon for gas. Rich or poor this hurts everybody. So for all of those thinking that paying more for gas is a no big deal, why don't you send me a check since you like throwing away money.