-J-P-L-

I pointed out that they DO make big money, like every executive. That's part of why a person works their *** off to become an executive. Last time I checked, America is the land of opportunity where one can work hard to make it big. You have the right to make that your goal as well. This class warfare is getting really annoying and and goes against everything America was founded on. You are not FREE if you don't have the opportunity to become what you want and earn to your potential. Do we no longer believe in the American Dream?

TechGreek

iTrader: (4)

It's illegal to price gouge. I'm all about letting companies do what they want as I run a business but I will not sit by while people struggle to feed their kids because it costs them too much to get to work now.

xfirechief

American Dream, right now there are way to many people that can only dream they can find a job to support their family. Is this the dream we are talking about. No one is worth millions a year plus big bonuses when it effects the people that have to buy their products just to survive day to day. Maybe if each exec took a cut in pay, say 1/2 million a year, we could see lower prices not only at the pumps but at the grocery store too.

How many Lexuses can one have anyways?

-J-P-L-

Oil Executive pay has NOTHING to do with the price at the pump. Do I think an Oil company CEO deserves $20M? Not really, but I don't despise it. Does a baseball player deserve $30M a year to play a game? Does an actor deserve $20M to do what he loves on a movie set? ....

You gotta look at the numbers. Check this out....

When the CEO makes $20M from a company with revenue of $370B, his take is .000054%! It's a drop in the ocean.

Do you really think if all the executives worked for $0, that it would change even a penny at the pump? It wouldn't.

kitlz

Steve Jobs's annual salary is $1

Paid $4.11 for Shell premium today. Two weeks ago it was $3.99.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

They aren't price gouging, though. As demand dramatically increases and supply remains relatively flat, or increases slightly as oil has done and continues to do because it can only get drilled/refined so fast, what do you expect the pricing to do? Stay flat, or rise as required?

Keep in mind that China and India are taking in ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE amounts of oil as they develop and their people start to climb out of the poverty they have lived in for so long. The jobs that went there have afforded them exactly what they afforded Americans who were doing that work - the "basics" of life as we know it. Or the "American Dream" as described below...

While I agree with you that no one person should be making $30M a year, especially in sports where arenas/stadiums are funded with tax dollars, who should determine what is fair? As JPL put it, they didn't get their by accident or because daddy said so, they worked hard, learned the business and rose to that level. And I think you're missing something - no one HAS to buy gas. It's a convenience that we have come to depend on, but people were getting around well before the invention of the automobile and the IC engine. They don't have to live so far from work that it's not convenient to walk or bike. They don't have to use a vehicle that is inefficient on gas, just as they don't have to vote for people who make false promises like no increases in taxes or say they can help make their situation better while maintaining the NIMBY ideas.

People have a strange way of seeing things, and it's not just you.

There is a tremendous NIMBY factor going on here that is the elephant in the room. No one wants to make any sacrifices like they were willing to generations ago for the greater good, which is why we find ourselves in the situation we are in today. No one wants to pay a penny in higher taxes, yet they want all the roads to be pristine. No higher taxes, but there should be mass transit available in all major cities. No higher taxes, but there should never be a situation where I cannot get help when I have a problem like my home getting broken into or my kids don't have books for schools. No additional training, but keep my job here and forget about hiring someone who has a degree in another country to do it at 1/4 the rate. No jobs going overseas, but they should buy all our products and make sure we have jobs here.

I'm not sure on this, but I'm willing to try and find out! (I kid, I kid. I'd own Lex, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin...)

Agreed. It's not a zero sum game, either. If you don't agree with oil executives making millions and you being left out, INVEST IN OIL. Get your share and get what you can out of it or go to work for them. You're not going to change the world right now and stop dependency on oil right now, but why not get some action in it while you can and put yourself in a better position since it's not going to change right now?

Do you (everyone, not singularly) realize that if you had bought XOM stock (and ONLY XOM stock) last year in July when it was $57.96 a share, you would have made $30 per share for every single share you owned? Think about that. If you could have pooled enough money to buy say 100 shares, you would have made $3K in less than a year and on an investment of $5796, which is over 50% return. Complain about profit much? You would be very happy to take that money, along with the dividends paid during that same period, to the bank and would be happy that gas prices and demand are going up.

Even at $90 a share, XOM is cheap, but if it's too much for you look at SUN (Sunoco), who is not nearly as large a company. $22.09 last July, now at $42.66. That's a 93% upswing. That same $5796 would get you 262 shares and net you $11,193, or over $5K in profit - not counting dividends.

Don't like the game? Don't play it. But don't complain that the ones playing it legally are winning at it. You have the ability to join in and can do so now at a moderate price. Yes, you may have to sacrifice to do it, but if it gets you where you want to be, what's that expression...no pain (at the pump), no (capital) gain?

If you want to effect change, how about voting out the people who want to maintain subsidies for the companies you are vilifying? The president doesn't think $4B in subsidies belong there, and I tend to agree on principle. The argument that they will subsequently raise prices holds no water since prices are rising anyway, and $4B is a drop in the bucket, yet the republicans say that it's bad for business. Really? What business do you know of that would cut off a huge market with large amounts of demand built in over a subsidy that small? Keep in mind, XOM isn't the only company who gets part of that, so divide it even amongst the biggest 5 and it's less than $800M for them, far less than 1% of revenue. They'd laugh at it, but the republicans are using this as a talking point to show solidarity within their ranks and against the president. Never mind that it's ALL to the detriment of the American people, but will that come to mind when it's election time? Doubtful. They'll have more rhetoric about how they were right and everything the other guys did was wrong...but that's an entirely different discussion.

Big Mack

-J-P-L-

And Apple's products are the most expensive in the industry with the highest profit margins.

This proves my point.

xfirechief

No I don't think they deserve those kind of salarys, I think they could get by on $10M/year, I know I could & then I wouldn't care what the gas costs.

No baseball played makes that much anyways but whatever they make I do not have to pay his salary or an actors salary if I don' t go to see them play or to their movie. BUT -

I have to use the gas , they got us right where they want us.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

So it's okay if you get it, but not the other people...
Ahem...

Alex Rodriguez $ 32,000,000 Third Baseman

And yes, you do have to pay his salary, or do you figure that your cable or satellite TV rates are high because the companies are only shooting for profit and not paying MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA contracts to get the television rights? Same with actors. You don't pay it directly, but you do pay for it in one way or the other.

As I said, you don't have to, you choose to have the convenience. Walk, ride your bike, hitchhike (kidding!), or use an alternative method of transportation. I'm sure you'd look fantastic on some roller blades.

I will agree with you that "they" got us right where "they" want us, but educating yourself and putting yourself in a position to capitalize on it isn't against the rules - most people just don't do it.

Big Mack

ArmyofOne

I filled up this morning. From empty. I will not do that again.

Gas light on, to full, is $109.40


Owies.

CDNROCKIES

So I just got back from a beautiful day of cruising through the mountains. I got to thinking about the "value" of better gas mileage versus cruising at a more "fun" pace. With gas prices climbing rapidly, is it worth it to save some cash by easing off the go pedal???

The math might surprise some of you.

While cruising leisurely on the highway at 130 km/h, the X5 diesel was showing me 9.4 L/100 km (25 mpg). Later I decided to see what I could get actually doing the speed limit or just under it (between 90-110 km/h). Amazingly, when driving slower I was using only 7.0 L/100 km (an outstanding 33 mpg ).

So for every 100 km I drive at the speed limit I'm saving 2.4 L. At current prices ($1.169/L), that translates into a savings of $2.81. If I assume that I'm getting 800 km out of a tank at the higher speed, I would save about $22.44 per tank. Not insignificant...but is it really worth it?

Consider that travelling 800 km, at an average of 100 km/h to achieve the better gas mileage, will take you 8 hours exactly. Travelling the same 800 km at 130 km/h, with lesser gas mileage, will take you only 6 hours and 9 minutes. That's a time savings of a whopping 1 hour and 51 minutes.

At the end of the day, for me personally, my time and driving enjoyment is worth the extra $22.44 per tank.

-J-P-L-

Yup, which is over $197,000 a game. To go up to bat typically 4 times and to make a handful of plays at 3rd. Not too shabby.

-J-P-L-

I'm wondering at what point do those that complain about gas prices give up their gas hogs.

I can't help but notice it's those that drive powerful/large/inefficient vehicles that complain while making fun of smaller cars and hybrids.

They wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius they say. They think they can't drive a Civic or even a Yaris because they have 2 kids. Huh? Last time I checked, sub-compacts seat 5 and have pretty large trunks.

It's time for this American mentality and love affair with large vehicles to ease. I have no problem with them, and those that drive them, just please don't say a word about gas prices if your one who laughs at Yaris's and Prius's. Very few need a big SUV.

Fizzboy7

If those who have SUV's and trucks can't afford the high gas prices, how on earth are they going to afford a new fuel efficient car? When you are suffering and scraping by, the very last thing you can manage is a new or used car purchase. People are in dire straights right now. Shopping/purchasing is the first thing that goes by the wayside.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

PPPOYPDNCAEOM - **** Poor Planning On Your Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency On Mine (not you, specifically, just generally). While I realize that hindsight is 20/20, there is something to be said for realizing gas prices would eventually rise again and do something before it was crunch time.

If the payment is $500 and they sell it for a car with a $250 payment, that's half. If it was using $200 worth of gas and now uses $100, that's half. Even if upside down on a vehicle, if you pay $350 a month and halve the gas bill, you're still up $250 a month ($700 vs. $450). They're practically giving cars away right now on the econoboxes, so it's a good time to make it happen for a lot of people. Again - sacrifice for the later. Something many people are unwilling (not unable) to do.

Big Mack