That was the word used by a coworker to describe Exxon's profits for last year.
*Big Sigh*
It's amazing how other people's profits are obscene yet people will readily accept a new, higher paying job, or a raise without blinking twice. I asked this guy if he accepted his raise (as paltry as ours was this year) and he said "That's different".
Different how? Each person looks out for his own self. Charity begins when you're needs have been met and you realize that it is in your best interest to help others out since one day you may need it or that in helping others out, you create an atmosphere that makes it easier for you to remain successful in. We all benefit from lower crime (even if the crimes don't happen directly to you) and better educated kids tend to not become criminals.
Now, if you have a 800 square foot home with a roof, bathroom, and basic kitchen, then you've got everything you need. You don't need designer shoes or clothes, or a TV, Internet connection, cell phone, haircuts, filet mignon, etc. All of that are things beyond what is required to survive or, as some people who have less than you might describe it, obscene.
When you shine the mirror back on those people, they shriek from their reflection and try to change the subject by saying there's a "limit". That limit, they cannot define, but it's somewhere, and we should all just agree with it.
Hogwash.
I'd accept a job making $850,000 a year for testing pool floats and not even blink an eye. Everyone would. It's in our nature. However, there are those who'd take the job but bitch that the guy making a million for testing massage techniques is making too much.
Now, back to Exxon. Most people think that gathering oil means you just pick a random place, stick a straw in the ground, and suck up the easy cash. It's not like that. In fact, locating the oil and drilling for it is probably one of the most difficult jobs there is. Oil wells dry up too, they don't constantly pump out crude. So you're constantly moving around, trying to buy land (and appease the Gaia worshipping idiots), trying to keep your rigs running, etc, and that requires a metric shit-load of cash.
You need people to invest their money to make this happen. The way you do that is by turning such a profit that it is in those people's best interest to do so, and that means PROFIT.
Seriously, if you think these people are simply out to gouge the world of their cash, then by all means, grab some straws and start sucking out the crude yourself and see if you can sell the results at well below market prices.
I've got $3.25 a gallon says you can't.
rolled out on
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 11:33 AM