Sorry I implied that McDonalds had a larger profits; I entended that to mean thay had a higher profit margin - which they do.

XOM is a big company. And a big company with a modest profit margin can post a record gain. So what. The important point is profit margin. Plenty of other business sectors enjoy much higher margins and records gains in their own right. However the guv has nothing to gain politically by picking on them does he?

Singling-out a specific industry and targeting them with a special tax for political gain is a slippery slope. It’s a great idea as long as your political allies hold the reigns of power. When they lose it - as they surely will - the tables can turn.

Don’t you actually make my point. You are correct that the oil companies do not directly set the price of gasoline. However, oil company profits are directly tied to the price at the pump. For the companies do not make 5-10 cents per gallon, they make 5 cents per dollar. Hence, war and Katrina were good for them.

It is hardly unreasonable to tax them. People obviously disagree on taxes. However, XOM posted “record profits” last quarter. As in, that is the record. For every company. Ever. In second place: XOM from the quarter before. McDonald’s isn’t close.

This is not based on nothing. Remember, the oil companies don’t artificially set the price of oil (from whence comes gasoline). Oil is a fungible commodity and prices are set in the global marketplace. Supply and demand. What a willing buyer is willing to pay a willing seller.

This is how it works for all commodities.

I’m not being sympathetic to the oil industry - just trying to make it easy for a lay person to understand the silliness of the governor’s proposal.

He’s simply pandering to people that lack a basic understanding of simple economics.

I correctly pointed out that there are plenty of other industries that enjoy much higher profit margins.

For instance, McDonald’s “record profits” far exceed those of Exxon Mobile. Can anybody explain to me why the governor hasn’t singled them out?

If the oil company makes 5.7 cents per dollar on a gallon of gas, then for a two dollar gallon it makes 11.4 cents, and for a three dollar gallon it makes 17.1 cents. Since that is a 33% increase, in the space of weeks, based on nothing, there is really no need to lobby or cry for oil companies.

Everyone can play number games. 40 Billion dollars is not just a “high” profit, its the highest ever. Just like with income taxes, if the profit goes up, the taxes go up. If Exxon gets an extra five cents from me, I’ve got no problem with them having to pay an extra penny to the state. From the sound of it, they seem to be OK.

Two points–First, you’re in the private sector. What if you have a good year and crack that 9% margin, would you want Doyle’s snoopers going through your books? No. You’ve got all that bamboo to pay for.

Secondly, the notion that this could ever be enforced is a true fantasy. It is still legal for businesses to raise prices to make a greater profit. We are still a capitalist system, right. What message do we want to send to Wisconsin’s employers?

With this Doyle appeals only to the emotions of those without a basic education in economics. Even he knows it would never work out like he says. Why not ask him to be honest about it?

Let’s keep this in perspective, please.

If gasoline sells for $3.00 a gallon Big Oil’s profit is roughly 5.7 cents per dollar of sales.

For the banking industry there’s about 17 cents profit for every dollar of sales.

Pharmaceutical companies 16.2 cents, the real estate industry 10.7 cents, hospitals and physicians 8 cents, and insurance companies 7.9 cents.

If bank profits drove gas prices we would pay more than $8 for a gallon of gas. If the pharmaceutical industry controlled gas prices the cost would be $7.71. If doctor and hospital profits determined the price of gas we would pay $4.00.

You may think that oil company profits are outrageous but when you compare them to the profits of other industries they pale in comparison.

Doyle is doing this for effect. It’s nothing but playing to his base. Quite silly as a matter of fact.

If you were savy you’d own some XOM. Remember, shareholders pay taxes on their dividends.

In addition, when profits are high, the stock price tends to be higher. Many pension, 401(k) plans, etc owns shares of stock in gas and oil companies, which keeps their retirement assets up.

I have an idea, why dont we have the government decide that what businesses are good and which businesses are evil and they can tax the heck out of the evil ones. Of course the casinos and the trial lawyers would be spared.