May 17, 2011

Just Who is Gouging Us on Gasoline?

By Jeff T. Allen
Americans are fed up with high gas prices, and some U.S. senators are getting disgusted enough to act.  Appearing in front of an Exxon gas station last week, Charles Schumer and several other senators called for the elimination of tax deductions oil companies use in their business of finding, refining, and marketing the precious energy we use.  It is time we are outraged by blatant greed at the gas pump, they implored.  Some of us agree, but for different reasons.  Let's have the courage to name those who are getting the biggest cut from our gasoline dollars, and put a stop to it.Understand where our money goes when we fill up at our corner station.  Oil company profit is one place: the after-tax profits earned by the most successful oil companies in America works out to about 8-9% of revenues.  That's 8 cents of every dollar we spend at the pump, and it's been much lower in years when prices are squeezed by too much supply.  Sometimes there are no...(Read Full Article)