jebo

Can Big Oil Balance Shareholder Interest Against National Interest?

The author, a "free market advocates (I am one), is anything but. The profit margins of big oil companies are very modest - 9 to 10% - relative to other industries. Taxing them will only result in higher prices at the pump. As far as being an "unregulated" industry, this can not be farther from the truth with organizations from OSHA to the US Coast Guard to the Materials Management Service all heavily involved in how the companies operate. We need to wake up, grasp the nettle of a comprehensive energy policy that focusses on the demand side of the equation - smaller cars and slower speeds - while encouraging investment in alternative fuels. The bottom line though for our lifetime - oil and gas will remain a primary source or energy.