GREED
“IT IS IMPOSIBLE TO BE GREEDY WITHOUT THE POSSESSION OF SOMETHING TO BE GREEDY WITH.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS THAT A POSSESSION CAN OCCUR:
A WILLING HAND OVER
OR
AN UNWILLING SEIZURE”
We really need to address the issue of greed.
I am confronted on a weekly basis about how the government’s increase in power is justified due to the amount of greed taking place in this country. Blindly this statement ignores greed of power.
Nowhere can one find an instance where anyone was greedy with anything, whether it was property or power, unless they were in possession of it in the first place.
I am almost at a loss of words, yes me, of how much upheaval there is today of greedy corporation’s legal profits. None of these profits, to my knowledge, were profits that were seized. All of these profits were given by the purchase of their products or services. Our choice was not to buy them.
Where is the upheaval of our greedy Federal Government seizing power? I don’t know about you but I haven’t freely given them the right to take it.
The greedy oil company’s profits are driven by the same principles that are every other industry, the want of people to buy. That includes Bill Gates’ Microsoft where you buy your games. That includes the sports industry and Hollywood, where you buy your entertainment.
Where is the outcry of Bill Gates gaining Billions within an extremely short period of time? Where is the outcry of the millions of dollars that sport stars make a year for playing a game? Where is the outcry of someone winning 100 million dollars for buying a one dollar ticket?
NO!
People’s greed for more entertainment and the possibility of winning the lottery themselves keeps people’s greedy mouths shut.
But as long as the greed is on the other foot, oh boy, stop them, destroy them, kill them. This is a perfect example of class envy.
I know that the price of gasoline has been affected lately by speculation. With much reserve I say that maybe speculation needs to be criminalized. I am very much in reserve here because the last thing I want to see is more laws and more government power.
I do know that 99.9% of those that complain about speculation haven’t done enough research to really know how stopping speculation may affect, in a negative way, the push by corporations to profitably (oops, did I say the “p” word) bring us the oil we need. I sure haven’t.
These people that complain are driven purely by information they get from the Lying Trash Media, the Lying Trash Government and their wallet when they need to fill their tank.
As far as the profit of the oil companies, let’s go back to last March (2008) (that’s when I have my figures from) and the price of fuel was $3.24. I have no idea how much gasoline comes from a barrel of oil , it’s not 55 gallons of gasoline from 55 gallons of oil, and I have no idea how much other legally, free market worthy, products are produced from what’s left over of the crude oil after the gasoline is refined from it.
At this time I have no proof whether what I read somewhere is true, but I did read that presently the cost of removing a barrel of oil from the ground in Saudi Arabia is $76.00. Oil, today at least, can be purchased for 51.97. That’s $24.03 loss per barrel.
Now being a business man I understand loss. I also, after having many conversations, know the misunderstanding of a loss in business by the general public. Let me make the explanation simple. A business loss is no different than me going into your checking account and taking money, that’s a loss.
The oil glut that the world has, has kept the price of crude oil down. When the glut is gone, and the price goes up, it is going to be because of the cost of getting it out of the ground, not to mention your wonderful President adding on Caps and Trade taxes. Yes, some of the increase is going to be because of legal, constitutional profits.
So, let’s go back to the March 2008 price of gasoline which was $3.24.
I cut out the article that I have my figures from and don’t remember the source. The cost for the crude oil it took to produce that gallon was $2.33 (looks like only half of the crude oil is gasoline). The cost of refining that gallon of gasoline was $.26. The taxes on that gallon of gas were $.39. This left a profit of $.26.
Oops!
I am wrong, that was gross profit. Out of this $.26 was the expense of distributing and marketing. But, those greedy bastard oil companies!!!
So where is the outrage of the government making $.39 for doing nothing? And worse yet were is the outrage of the Government promising us that those taxes were to be used to keep us in a road system that was in good repair and breaking that promise? They put that money in a general account and spend it where ever they see fit. Where is that outrage?
Our attentions are constantly focused on the bastard oil companies by the Lying Trash Media and the Lying Trash Government (one in the same nowadays).
I don’t have the actual figure of what the cost of getting a barrel of oil out of the ground was March of last year, but I am sure that it is not much different than this year. So let’s say it was $75.00. I know that the cost of a barrel of crude last year was $97.07. That leaves a profit of $22.07 (I don’t know if $97.07 per barrel included getting the oil to the buyer or if buyer paid transportation costs). That’s a 29% profit margin. And of course let’s not be reminded that right now there is a $24.03 loss, off setting the profits of last year. Those greedy bastards!!!
Check the profit margin on your next pair of Nike Shoes, but don’t complain about that, you might not see them on the shelf next week.
There is an extremely few number of people that talk about corporate greed that truly understand where AIG gets their money (along with all the other “greedy” companies that are in the news lately) I sure don’t. I have no idea at all how I could control what funds they end up with out of my pocket. I don’t even know if any of my money gets from my pocket to theirs (except the bailouts).
It was a direct violation of our constitutional rights for the government to force us to give the money to them.
The free market and a Republican form of government dictate that that is how we control their greed. If we don’t give them the money, they can’t get greedy with it. If they received the money legally, then we have no right to dictate what they do with it.
If they are a legal free market entity and they fail because of their greed, then they fail. It was not up to us to save them. That was a total disregard of the free market system. Informed by the Lying Trash Media and the Lying Trash Government, the ignorant masses want to blame capitalism and the free market system for our loss.
The free market is a fantastically genius system. It gives us the choice to demand and then in turn gives the companies the ability to supply.
But as soon as we want on a daily basis, as soon as this want puts great demands on the supply, it’s considered greed to make a profit. The ideals of a free market are thrown aside. The rule of law (the definition of republic which is the basis of all that is good in this country) is thrown aside and class envy along with mobocracy takes over.
Supporting your State Government in the building of an infrastructure based on making travel in smaller vehicles more palatable is constitutional. It is constitutional only for those in a state to mandate within that state a tax being collected for the sole purpose of building and maintaining that infrastructure within that state. The car companies following the wants of the people for smaller cars and building them is constitutional.
Purchasing smaller vehicles and using the infrastructure and driving down the demand for fuel (exercising the principles of a free market system) are constitutional.
The Federal Government’s greed for power and taking over the car manufacturers to force them to make and sell to us smaller cars is Communism.
The Federal Government’s taking over of companies and forcing production of smaller vehicles is Russia. A Cap and Trade tax to force you to use less fuel is Russia. Forcing you to drive those smaller vehicles, while the Federal Government gives up nothing, is Russia.
Oops!
Sorry that isn’t Russia anymore.
Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin denounced the Soviet Union’s past greed for power in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:
“In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated”
So stop complaining that the Federal Government should step in and make more laws to control greedy corporations.
If you want my support in making a new law, than here is the law I support. Crying about the price of gas should be illegal. Saying that it should be kept low because we “need” it to get to work, that should be illegal.
The demand we make on the supply of fuel is not based on need. It is based on want.
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We want to drive big seven passenger vehicles even when we drive alone.
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We want to go on Sunday drives.
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We want to drive across the country on vacation.
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We want to watch the stupid little cars go roundy roundy at the race track.
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We want to spend $50.00 on gas to sit in a boat all day to catch $20.00 worth of fish.
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We want to buy all the plastic toys (plastic is another demand on crude oil supply) that we play with for fifteen minutes and then throw into a closet.
If we all stopped consuming crude oil based on wants and started consuming on need, the demand on supply would drop and so would the price, there is no argument necessary.
Start pointing the finger back at yourself and realize that your greed for more is the basis to the world’s problems.
Sincerely
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