Recently during an interview a well-known economist Dr Louis Becker, he referred to Oil Companies profits as “Grotesque” As a reportor that made an impression with me. Now we have all heard the term “everyone’s feeling the pinch at the pumps” If it’s a pinch, than it’s 3” of my belly fat between a pair of Vice Grips. Many people have gone from spending a $120 a month for gas to $270 a month. Some have even started eating just one meal a day to off set the high cost of fuel. This situation has caused a lot of Americans to find alternative ways of getting around.

The Oil Industry have said that the reason for the high gas prices is the demanded from China is driving up prices. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. Yet the president of OPC Akihiko Otsuka in a recent interview said he was concerned about world oil prices. He said he didn’t understand why they were so high that the supply way out stripped the world demands.

The Big Oil companies have said that the refineries are running at near capacity, but since they have had to convert to making fuel oil there is a drop in supply. We can only assume that the oil companies didn’t know winter was coming this year and were caught unprepared for the change over. We also have to wonder why would you produce a product at near capacity, if you could sell more wouldn’t basic business theory tell you to make more.

Now we have Exxon Mobil announcing a record profit. We're sure they didn’t raze their employees pay by 100%, so it only stands to reason they would double their profits. The oil company reports larger than expected jump in 4Q income do to cap a record year of $10.7 billion, or $1.71 a share, compared to $8.4 billion, or $1.30 a share, a year earlier. The company earned a net income of $36.1 billion, or $33.9 billion excluding special items. That's a 31 percent increase from the $25.9 billion it earned on that basis earlier this year.

"There is a great deal of public interest in global energy prices," said a statement attributed to Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson. "We recognize that consumers worldwide want and need reliable supplies of affordable energy -- to fuel their vehicles, light and heat their homes and run their businesses. Our strong financial results will continue to allow us to make significant, long-term investments required to do our part in meeting the world's energy needs."

If you combined that with the big tax cuts that the Bush administration gave the oil industry so they would invest in finding new sources of oil to sell us. This all comes as good news to the average American that’s trying to make ends meet and can’t afford to feed their kids and drive to work too. Thank heavens Exxon will be able to keep suppling affordable energy due to their record profits. And God knows a industries making grotesque profits needs a leg up from the American tax payer, so we can pay to find it and then pay for it after they refine it and help Exxon make even more Grotesque profits.

Now we are not a world renown economist, but wouldn’t you have to be buying very cheap and selling very high to make record profits? There’s nothing wrong with making money, we do it everyday. But to do it at the sake of your own country’s financial health and on the backs of the middle class. We don’t know how these guys sleep on their 5000 thread count silk sheets at night. Perhaps it doesn’t really make any difference if the U.S. economy collapses under the weight of higher fuel cost. The CEOs at Exxon Mobil will have plenty of money to retire on.

Of course Exxon Mobil isn't the only oil company reporting sharply higher profits. The 12 U.S. oil companies in the S&P 500 reported fourth-quarter earning on average 48 percent higher.

The list includes most of the large U.S. oil companies, including No. 2 Chevron and No. 3 ConocoPhillips. But it does not include major foreign-based oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell or BP, which both have extensive U.S. operations.
Grotesque profits in the third quarter drew the attention of some in Congress asking for the so-called "windfall profit" tax on oil company earnings. A joint hearing of the Senate Energy and Commerce committees looked into earnings from big oil. Lee Raymond, who retired as Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil in December, was one of five executives from big oil called to testify.

Unfortunately the various windfall profit tax proposals did not make it past the November hearings. Luckily it seems some oil company lobbyist were kind enough to explain the whole thing to Congress members and Senators, so there was no need to continue the subject on Capital Hill.

The oil companies in the S&P are expected to see full-year earnings of $96.5 billion, when combining reported results and forecasts for the companies yet to report. That also would be up 48 percent from a year ago.