Exxon Mobil disclosed yesterday that it set a record for profits among American companies, reporting $36 billion in annual income.
You’d think people would be outraged — with allegations of price gouging or something.
The New York Times reported that the “company’s huge profit report came as no surprise to the White House or to lawmakers in either party, but it arrived just as Congress was preparing to resume a fight over imposing a one-time windfall profits tax on the major oil companies.”
The Times notes:
“Last fall, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a bill to extend about $60 billion worth of tax cuts over the next five years, but it also included a provision that would impose a one-year tax increase of $5 billion on the nation’s largest oil companies. The measure is unlikely to survive. President Bush has already threatened to veto the tax bill if it includes the tax on oil companies, and House Republicans included no comparable measure in their own tax bill.”
Clearly, with a profit of $36 billion, Exxon Mobil could easily afford to pay a $5 billion windfall profits tax.
But so what? If Congress gets another $5 billion to spend, it’s not like the general public is ever going to see any of it.
Now that Hurricane Katrina and the oil rigs in the Gulf aren’t in the news anymore, and gas prices have settled out at around $2.40 a gallon, most folks just don’t care. They might if they were paying $4.00 – $5.00 a gallon. But the oil companies were smart. Now they’ll just gradually increase the price so most folks won’t notice it.
People are more interested in which movies will be nominated for an Oscar or betting on this weekend’s Super Bowl. Unless you own oil stocks, the most common reaction to this news is likely to be a shake of the head or a shrug.
