Original text and editing by:
A G Kaiser
email to
agkaiser1@gmail,com
When we’re all rich and live on our investments no one will have to work. There will be no poverty or slums. We’ll all have a PH.D. What a glorious vision it is! If hunter gatherers had envisioned the service economy 20,000 years ago the human race would have achieved its glorious end long before any of US were born. . . .
"A good slave works for food alone."
Volume V Issue 09:
While Katrina was still blowing and shortly after, Bush released oil reserves and relaxed environmental standards for fuel mix. He later listed relief efforts of the federal government and local authorities in a Rose Garden address on 8/31/05. At the same time he called on the American community’s taxpayer/consumers [private sector] to donate to the cause. He reminded US of the difficulties the oil industry faces, while promising his efforts would take some pressure off fuel prices. Mega-Oil responded to President Oil’s call for aid, with a second blow and a potential threat to the solvency of many Americans, who are depleting their already low credit reserves and find themselves unable to stay clothed, housed, fed and transported to and from work on their incomes alone. Petro-manic profiteers heeded the presidents call by taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the natural disaster to raise gasoline prices 30 cents per gallon immediately and bumped the increase to 50 cents per gallon [in Arizona] by September 8. The word of mouth network of corporate criminal apologists is preparing another kind of relief. They’re suggesting gasoline will hit $5.00. I’m sure we’ll be relieved and thankful if we only have to pay $3 or $3.50.
The neo-conned dupes are also repeating the mantra, "supply and demand,"thereby obediently serving their money god. The second and more subtle reinforcement of propaganda delusions is the contained perpetuation of the distortion of Adam Smith’s economic theory, which didn’t ignore the impossibility of an ever expanding market, because it knew the real market consisted of the trade of real goods, not money. Finance is not an asset. It can’t be counted as growth. It is a debt, a liability. The stock market pyramid scheme of debt trading contributes nothing but its dead weight burden to the real economy of production and consumption.
The relaxation of community specific fuel blend standards might contribute to more storms by increasing the global warming trend. Warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico have been cited as a cause for the more intense and frequent hurricanes. But, since the neo’s pet scientists, "rely on ‘good science’," have told US global warming is a hoax and the intelligent designer will protect US, we shouldn’t think about it. Think about the savings in cost to Mega-Oil. I’m sure they’ll pass that savings on to the consumer instead of sticking it in their pockets. Remember, it could have been $5.00 per gallon. Bask in the warmth of President Oil’s magnificent magnanimousness. Besides, there are significant penalties for breaking the law of supply and demand. The dictum requires that all misery, pain and suffering be exacerbated by exploiting the opportunity to milk it for every possible penny. The market just can’t bear it otherwise. And the marketeers won’t endure a community that works for our own good, instead of their’s.
C-SPAN presented a National Press Club meeting on 9/1/05. Jack Gillis, Public Affairs Director of the Consumer Federation of America said the victims [my word] of Mega-Oil, i.e. consumers, will be educated and socialized [through advertising presumably] to understand the need for high prices and profits and what we can do about it. We "will be shown we have the power to change." Also, oil companies are constrained by market forces. Consumers will be empowered by instruction to take control and change the system through their fuel buying choices. . . . We’ll learn to buy fuel efficient vehicles. What’s sad is that most Americans will believe that shit! Apparently P. T. Barnum underestimated the suckers’ gullibility. I can see that they can fool MOST of the people all of the time.
Mark Cooper, the Research director for the same propaganda mill, talked about the ripple effect of increased proportion of ethanol in the fuel blend as countering the ripple effect of rising oil prices even if, as he denies as he admits, ethanol production is a net energy loser.
Do these idiots believe their shit or are they only trying to keep the con alive a little longer? Probably, and schizophrenically, both! After many references to supply and demand, though Cooper acknowledged in passing that oil prices "go up like a rocket and come down like a feather," he moved on to inevitably placing the blame squarely on the consumer victims of Mega-oil.
President Oil said the "private sector must do its part." - 9/1/05 He asked all Americans to pitch in for the relief of Katrina victims. Mega-Oil pitched in immediately by raising prices and taking billions more cash from American consumer/taxpayers, while Exxon-Mobil contributed a million or so to the relief effort. Will the taxpayer’s money be used to pay Halliburton to rebuild and expand the refineries? As to Mega-Oil’s windfall profits, they are constrained by the law of supply and demand, though they didn’t say what the penalty is for not taking advantage of the misery of others to increase profits.
Exxon-Mobil reported at the annual meeting on May 25, 2005, in Dallas, that total current assets increased from 45.9 billion to 60.4 billion dollars in 2004. [Total assets:$195 billion, 291 billion in sales, 25 billion net income] The $1.06/share distribution on 6.482 billion shares outstanding (after almost $10 billion worth of shares at $52-$72/share were bought back)
no doubt offset the high prices at the pump for shareholders, for whom the cost of gasoline is insignificant. Those of US who aren’t rich shareholders may look forward to spending a larger proportion of our income for energy and all other goods and services as a result of the ripple effect of Mega-Oil profits.
Perhaps Exxon will help US out by loaning US the $18.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents the summary balance sheet indicates, to rebuild their refineries and further fatten Halliburton with those and other Katrina relief contracts. This would be a way for all of Mega-Oil (BP/Amoco is the richest, then Exxon/Mobil, then Royal Dutch/Shell) to profit further by our misery with the cash they’ve robbed from US and can’t put back into their own industry or invest elsewhere in the glutted money market. "It’s an ill wind as blows no one no good." What’s good for the corporate empire must be supported by their debt slaves if we wish to be allowed the "privilege" of living
The world of finance cannot be too unfamiliar to Mega-Oil. Presumably, among Exxon’s $25.4 billion in notes and accounts receivable (less doubtful amounts) in the total current assets, are previous adventures in usury. Our increased indebtedness to the corporate benefactors will be a bonding experience for US all. United, each in his own way must do what we can for disaster relief. Don’t mind me. I’m practicing Bushian doublespeak. That’s the only language many of US think we understand.
Oil profits, like all profits, come out of the pockets of consumer/taxpayer members of the community. If we pay three dollars per gallon for gasoline, cap the prices and tax away the oil companies’ windfall profits, we can get some of that money back to the communities it was taken from. I expect objections to this common sense plan will be raised by those who fear the abridgement of the economic elites freedom to enslave US with debt. After all, aren’t you too free to loot the community for your individual profit? Don’t we all have the same opportunities? Or have you just sold out the human race for a little bit more than most people have? Or worse yet, for a hollow ideal, a worthless value or the principle of your master’s greed.
If you wish to help, contact me:
agkaiser@yahoo.com
Greg Kaiser
Please, copy the "The Times" to an e-mail composition or print it out. Send or give it to ten people. Unlike our economy, this is a pyramid scheme that can work. If this has been forwarded to you and you wish to be added to the list to receive direct notification of the posting of new issues, put Collector Request in the subject and e-mail to: agkaiser@hotmail.com