The Oil Goliaths

We hear all the time that people are driving less because of rising fuel prices. Because of this, I've also read recently, states and local governments are suffering drops in income from gasoline taxes, trucking firms are finding that they can't make enough money to compensate for the higher prices, and non-profits like Meals-on-Wheels are having to cut back their services because their volunteers can't afford the cost of delivering those meals. It seems that everyone whose business depends on oil is hurting this year.

Well, maybe not all...

Apparently, Exxon Mobil had record profits this quarter—that's profit, folks: what's left over after all the "increased expenses" they've incurred have already been paid—and Royal Dutch Shell did almost as well. The oil companies will, no doubt, try to spin this to say that it's not so simple, that they haven't made enormous sums of money at our expense. But don't let them FoxNews you: they are not suffering at all and are certainly not feeling the same pinch as you and me.

I don't say this lightly: I sincerely think it's time for a boycott of Exxon Mobil and Shell. I'm sure the other oil companies have made their own obscene profits at our expense but since we can't boycott oil altogether (although I wish we could!), the very least we can do is show the most egregious offenders that we're on to their BS.

Of course, I realize that this will hurt the local merchants more than either of these two MegaCorps, so if anyone has a better idea of how to lodge a protest, I'm game. Perhaps we buy our snacks and sodas from those folks and our gasoline somewhere else? I dunno, but I'm tired of reading about how rich the oil companies are getting while they pretend to "feel our pain."