Just as every other cunsumer in America, every aspect of my life is being affected by soaring fuel prices. I've often wondered where all of my hard earned money was being siphoned off to, and then several months ago, I learned that Exxon earned $40 billion in profits last year.
Needless to say, I'm not happy about this. Couldn't they get by with just a $30 billion profit, and keep gas prices in a range that doesn't make the average wage earner have to choose between eating lunch, and getting home from work?
Well, I found the following peice in Parade Magazine about who gets what from every gallon of gas sold. How does this make you feel?
(Reprinted from Parade.com)
With Gas at $4 a gallon... Who Is Getting Your Money?
You might think gas-station owners are getting rich off record oil prices, but in fact most independently owned stations make just pennies per gallon. Big oil companies claim they’re not big winners, either. Although Exxon Mobil netted $40 billion in 2007, the average profit margin for oil companies is just 7.6%, compared with 9.2% for most manufacturers. If demand for fuel continues to exceed supply, gasoline prices will continue to rise as oil companies are forced to turn to more expensive sources of crude.
Oil producers: $2.96
Refiners: 36 cents
Distributors and marketers: 28 cents
State government: 22 cents
Federal government: 18 cents
Source: All figures are estimates based on information from the U.S. Department of Energy. Actual state tax rates vary.
It seems that everyone is making out, except the consumer.
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