May 04, 2008 12:11 am
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On April 27th this newspaper published a letter to the editor by Jesse James of Bailey. The headline read “The truth about big oil.” Unfortunately Mr. James left out some facts.
1. Former President Clinton allowed all the mergers to happen under his watch. Now there is insufficient competition in the US marketplace to hold prices down.
2. Oil companies operate on a profit margin of about 10 percent. That means for every gallon of gas sold they get about $.10 profit. Meanwhile our government collects $.18 tax per gallon of gas sold. Therefore it is our government who is hosing us on the cost of gas.
3. If you are putting money into a mutual fund chances are you own stock in at least one of those companies. Any windfall profits tax that many support likely means less money finds its way into those investment portfolios.
If I had to lay money on it, I would say that you have no proof of the serious criminal activity you accused some “big oil” company executives of. Your opinion of something and what you can prove in a court of law may not always be one and the same. I’d be careful of making such accusations without definite proof.
I’d also like to know how Mr. James defines gouging. I’d bet he wouldn’t like for the government to come in and tell him that he could sell his home for a maximum of $150,000 even though it will take at least $300,000 to replace in his new location.
Kerry Hunt
Starkville
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