Five executives representing BP America, Shell Oil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, and Exxon Mobil were questioned (grilled) by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I think the politicians are so off-base on this issue it’s not even funny anymore. But in an election year, the only thing on the minds of politicians (Republicans and Democrats alike) is to appease the wants of the working public, many of whom are very uneducated on the ways of economics and world issues.

The idea that these corporations are deliberately “gouging” the working poor is ludicrous. The profit margins of the leading oil companies are as follows:

Exxon Mobil – 10.85%

BP – 7.66%

Conoco Phillips – 6.75%

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Now to provide a little comparison, the profit margins of a few other large corporations not in the oil industry:

Google – 24.89%

Coca-Cola – 20.64%

GE – 12.68%

Altria – 24.86%

Source: Yahoo! Finance

The reason for the comparison is to dissuade individuals from criticizing the oil industry as a bunch of profit hungry pirates and realize they are not charging markups anywhere close to the likes of Altria, Coca-Cola and General Electric. If Exxon Mobil had a profit margin similar to that of Google, their annual net income would be nearly double its current level.

So, my advice to all of those people who complain about oil profits and gas prices is to stop whining and invest in those companies! That way, you share in the profits and earn every time a driver fills up at the pump.

[tags]crude oil, exxon mobil, bp, conoco phillips, shaun carter, chevron, shell, ge, google, coca cola, altria, gas prices[/tags]