‘Big Oil’ Has America Over A Barrel

And they're unapologetic. They have an 'inalienable right' to charge consumers whatever price the market (they control) will bear. And boy are they exercising it.

[According to the CIA,] the combined first-quarter revenue of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips totaled $191.5 billion — more than the individual gross domestic products of 189 different countries, including the likes of Chile, Denmark, Peru and Venezuela[.]

That's right. Exxon outdoes Kuwait, Exxon-Chevron-Conoco outshines Venezuela . . .

[a] founding member of OPEC and [the] fourth-largest supplier of U.S. oil imports in 2005.

. . . and 188 other countries! These guys are HUGE! They're like Nation-states! How on earth did they come by all this power??? Merit? Hah!

But they're not only powerful, they're arrogant.

They shamelessly try to convince us that - according to their religion - it's their divine right to make tons of money while the rest of us either pay for the privilege of using their resources or suffer the consequence of living without it.

There's little that either lawmakers or the industry can do in the short-term about the high oil prices that yielded those profits, however, as long as energy markets stay tense and the global economy is expanding. Instead, it would take a decision by consumers and businesses to consume less fuel, a choice they have yet to make, analysts said.

Poor 'Big Oil.' There's nothing they can do. Profits are foisted upon them by hoards of consumer-masochists, who mercilessly bring it upon themselves.

After all, Big Oil worked hard (in concert with eachother and with bankers) to GET what we NEED. (Sound familiar?)

So, it's only fair that if we want to live in the 21st century, we must pay them for the privilege, or get used to living in the stone age. Those are the rules of the game.

[E]lected officials are doing a public disservice by not doing a better job of explaining how the global oil market works.

"It's late in the game," said Antoine Halff, director of global oil at Fimat USA in New York. "The only policy changes that would have an immediate effect would be demand restraints, such as increases in gasoline taxes, alternate driving days or enforcement of speed limits." Halff does not consider any of these will be suggested in Congress, especially during an election year.

I have news for you - Antoine - it's never too late to establish justice. There are plenty of measures against Big Oil that CAN get passed in Congress, ESPECIALLY in an election year.

Property and tax laws are legal constructs - NOT 'immutable rights.'

They're designed to yield the greatest possible benefits for the largest number of people. When they fail to meet those goals as routinely and as miserably as the current regime has failed they can and MUST be dismantled just as they were constructed.

But, that's not the picture Big Oil and their corporate media minions want to paint. According to them, it's consumers who must sacrifice and even then they may never see the fruits of their labor.

[I]t may take years before changes in consumer behavior affect the market.

"In the meantime, you as a consumer have three options," said Ebel of CSIS. "You have car keys, light switches and a thermostat. Use them judiciously.

In other words, you want oil? Bend over. Big Oil provides the lubricant, consumers get screwed.

Wakeup, America. They have us over a barrel of our own making. It's up to us to demand our rightful share of God's earth at a fair price.