18

Let Me Reiterate, or More Fun With Facts.

   Spring is upon us, and it is time for the semi-annual oil price increase, not quite the same as the swallows returning to Capistrano, but predictable none the less. It’s kind of like setting your clocks for DST, (maybe that’s why we have DST, so the oil companies have a better schedule), “Spring Forward, Raise prices; Fall Back, Raise prices”

   Oil, like any natural resource, should belong to the citizens residing in that country, the companies mining the resources should, of course, be allowed a measure of profitability for their investment and labor. But when one looks at the oil company profits it becomes clear that these companies have an entirely different outlook, one not in the best interests of the country they reside in. When the cost of crude, the cost of production, and the demand go up, you would expect prices to go up correspondingly. This increase in pricing should reflect the increased cost, thereby keeping a respectable profit margin, that should never rise by more than a few percent from a reasonable return on investment. Check out: http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm

   When oil companies boast of 1000% profits, something probably went wrong somewhere, and unfortunately our complacency allows this to happen. Oh yeah! We bitch and moan, and we take it for granted that our government would never let this kind of blatant raping of our country and its citizens take place, but it should be clear by now that most governments don’t have the best interests of its citizens on their agenda.

   To paraphrase JFK “Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what has your country done for you lately?”. The current state of affairs make it painfully clear that our interests are not being addressed by our elected officials, and these officials don’t even care if we know this fact, they don’t care if we are aware of their deceit, deceptions, ruses, games, and obvious lies. We now have records being set in bankruptcies, foreclosures, unemployment, illiteracy, crime, and of course the ever popular white collar game of “grab that pension and run”.

   We have records being set in the cost of housing, food, medicine, education, and of course that wonderful necessity of modern life oil. The only real constant seems to be the low stagnating wages that most Americans labor under, and the guarantee of an ever increasing cost of living. The current poverty level is:

2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines based on number of Persons in Family or Household

                                                                                    Alaska                    Hawaii

                                                    1     $10,210            $12,770                  $11,750

                                                    2     13,690                17,120                   15,750

                                                    3     17,170                 21,470                  19,750

                                                    4     20,650                 25,820                  23,750

                                                    5     24,130                 30,170                  27,750

                                                    6     27,610                 34,520                  31,750

                                                    7     31,090                 38,870                  35,750

                                                    8     34,570                 43,220                  39,750

   The current minimum wage is $2.65/hour in Kansas to a whopping $8.00/hour (in the very liberal states of California and Massachusetts). That’s $5512 to $16640 annual gross income, net, (after TAX), income is at or below poverty levels. Basically if you don’t have 2 incomes rolling in you get to choose between food or shelter, (forget about thise luxuries like TV, phone, heat,etc…), kind of shameful in the richest country on earth, don’t you think?

   On the other side of reality we have the CEO’s, (basically those people who decided that you should be able to live on minimum wage), making an average of $ 15 million in annual salaries and perks, (http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/).
At what point in the sur-reality spiral does one start thinking that they are worth $1 million or more per month.

   Maybe if we cap salaries and corporate profit margins, the cost of living might drop to the point where the average American can afford to live in America. More jobs would be available, with higher wages and less overtime, hell you might even have enough discretionary income to enjoy a day off that doesn’t include hiding your depression behind a TV set, or working around the house because you can’t afford the cost of hiring someone to do the repairs.

Oh by the way if you haven’t figured out the meaning of life is, "In this style 10/6",
You’re not paying enough attention to the current state of affairs, or to the quality of our current leadership.


(Later....)