Profit can never be bad.

Corporate excess is a direct result of consumer excess. Any company that is successful is only successful because they have customres who continue to buy goods and services from them. If people would learn to consume less and save more, companies would downsize and people would gain steady employment in stable industries.
If workers would learn to live with less money, then the economy would balance itself out. Many of these companies that sell non-essential goods and services would go out of business. Some companies would cut back on offering certain goods and services. This would cause temporary layoffs, but in a few years the economy woudl rebound and become resilient.

Nobody wants to lose jobs. But many of the jobs out here are not very essential to the well-being of others. If people bought less fast food, smaller vehicles, less entertainment, and cheaper education, the middle class could easily survive with lower wages. The problem is that new trends are followed and people get jobs with companies that are not meant to last long. As soon as Americans start consuming less, the middle class will become comfortable and stable once again.

(1) More of the profits of at least the top two “oil giants”, ExxonMobil and Chevron, come from outside the U. S. than here.

(2) More of their profits come from “upstream” (exploration and production) than from “downstream” (refining and marketing).

(3) The company with the greatest U. S. refinery capacity is Valero, not ExxonMobil or Chevron. However they operate primarily in the U. S. (they have a refinery in Aruba and interests in Canada) and no U. S. crude production. They are opening retail outlets under the Valero name but primarily supply “quick sacks” and companies that market gasoline (such as grocery stores) but do not produce any. They make only about 6% on revenues.

(4) Probably the third and fourth largest oil companies are not U. S. companies but BP (British) and Shell (Dutch).

In fact BP might be larger than Chevron. They now own several companies that used to be U. S. companies. I believe their first purchase was a couple of refineries and some (older) gas stations once owned by Sinclair they bought when Sinclair was taken over by Atlantic Richfield (ARCO). They then bought Standard Oil (Ohio). ARCO itself (who first discovered oil on the North Slope of Alaska) was next and they purchased Amoco (formerly Standard of Indiana) most recently.

Venezuela (Chavez) is in the picture as well. They own CITGO (formerly Cities Service) and until recently shared ownership of Lyondell – Citgo. Lyondell was a “spin off” from ARCO.

Even the “big camel,” Saudi Arabia, has a “nose under the tent.” They have a half interest in a company called Motive with a refinery in Louisiana.

(5) The “oil giants” also make a lot of their money on natural gas sales. I can’t find details on crude vs. gas profits in any of the data I have but they are investing heavily, (mostly overseas again) on finding gas and transporting it as LNG to the U. S.

(6) At least ExxonMobil and Chevron collect and pay far more in taxes (no company actually “pays” taxes they merely collect them and pass the costs to their customers) than they make in profits. But again most is outside the U. S., where most of their profits come from.

In any event, keep pushing, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi, keep up the great(er) work.

Change is never easy nor convenient… which is of course why it isn’t happening. Everyone should be ashamed of the mass complacency, I know I am.