When will it Stop

[luvrbus]

Yep you are right Wayne it is all passed down even the tax increases John Q pays for it and John Q is getting overloaded already with more coming,The dumbest thing I read is we made 4 billion releasing 200 million barrels of oil from our SPR 120 day supply,the price we paid for 3000 barrels it's going to cost taxpayers 15 billion to refill if they refill it what a waste   

[Nova Eona]

Let's not forget that corporate profits are at a 70 year high despite the economic suffering of the lower and middle classes over the past generation.  They'd really like you to blame regulations and taxes for the disparity rather than question things like why CEO pay has gone up by nearly 1,000% over the past three decades.

[luvrbus]

Let's not forget that corporate profits are at a 70 year high despite the economic suffering of the lower and middle classes over the past generation.  They'd really like you to blame regulations and taxes for the disparity rather than question things like why CEO pay has gone up by nearly 1,000% over the past three decades.

I have problems with CEO pay on my bank stock they have a good year and instead of passing it on to stockholders the CEO gets the surplus,the difference is stockholders share payment is pre set before the final tally that I don't care for it, Corporations are still on the same profit margin in most cases it is just everything is so more expensive dollar wise it looks better on paper bottom line shows more money that translate into higher profits from past years that is the way Wall Street works to keep the price of stock up .LOL I wish Ford would figure it out     

[windtrader]

The price of food now wow!!,I like prime rib shopping yesterday it is not happening this year no way am I paying over $400.00 for a chunk of prime rib on sale.I feel for retirees living on a fix income it is tough times for those you are seeing more and more seniors working in fast food places now.Tax people have no problem keeping up,we got a tax bill for property we own on the Texas coast it tripled this year, property taxes here in AZ has almost doubled since last year.You get tired of leasing property you spent years paying for that you never really own if you don't pay the lease in form of taxes they will take it. Now the idiots in DC are going to print another 1.7 trillion to flame the fire,I like the 50's better 

Maybe the property tax is so low a 2x or 3x jump can still get paid from the retired person fixed income. What do most of these folks do? The only thing I can figure out is the retired get forced out of homes they own because they can't afford the taxes and upkeep  hired in. Is that why so many flock to Florida?

CA cost is crazy but the goal to preserve intergenerational wealth remains strong

[rusty]

Ther are a couple of ways to look at profit one is raw dollars and  that is higher for most companies because money is worth less. Another way is percentage of sales and that number doesn't change much. The oil companies percentage is up but I dont blame
them they spend the money to improve business only to have DC  shut them down (pipe lines and permits) why spend the mioney sit on in
As far as CEO wages I don't think they need salaries as big as they are getting but maybe there are not enough good people to do the job correctly. I say I will pay someone 100 an hour if they made me 110 dollars
Wayne

[luvrbus]

We have seen the last of $40.00 a barrel oil because of policy I think it will level out at around $85 hopefully and it will spike to over $100 with China coming back online after 2 years of CV-19. Car makers are not ready to throw the towel in on combustion engines,the American buyers are not ready yet on EV's some of us may never be ready the 6% market share on new car sales for EV's is not very much,and without getting prices lower it is not going to increase by much.The dealers have a hard time selling a used EV's for some reason could be price or buyers are afraid of a used EV who knows 

[niles500]

Starting Jan 1st you can get up to $4k rebate on used ev's

[rusty]

Lord help me I can't  stop. Follow this. We all send way to much money to all the governments. When it gets there somebody to justify their salary does something most of the time not needed or flat out wrong.  And what's left over they start another agency to do more  crazy things. Now an oil company has brought some  leases on the bet they will find oil. One day they wake up and want to poke a hole hoping to find oil. But wait you need a permit. After looking into a permit they find they have to go through 8 or 9 agencies very few of which have any interest In giving you one. So you send years and a lot of money to get the permit if at all. Now you and I go to the station and buy a gallon of gas and in the price of the gallon of gas of  is all a charge to recover the money spent to fight the Feds. If you follow so far you and I just payed for  both sides of the argument.  And we bitch about the pice of gas. As long as we elect people that want our money to do dumb things nothing  will change.  What a country!
Wayne

[Nova Eona]

Corporations are still on the same profit margin in most cases it is just everything is so more expensive dollar wise it looks better on paper 

Yeah see that's the problem - small businesses and working people have seen economic hardship the past few years (decades really), so it would be natural for those corporate profits to take a dip during record inflation and such when so many people simply have less money to spend.  It would not be exceptional for specific industries or individual corporations to beat the curve and maintain or increase profit when everyone else is suffering, but when the vast majority of all large corporations are doing as well or better than ever, that suggests instead that they are using the power they have over the economy and government to shield themselves at our expense.

While economics in general is not a zero-sum game, in this microcosm it is.  For the corporations to escape unscathed or even benefit as they have, everyone else - us poor folks who can't buy lobbyists and politicians - must carry a greater burden.

For those who like to point instead to the government as the root cause of all problems, I remind you that in this country bribery is legal and corporations have been pouring staggering amounts of money into the politicians which are meant to represent us.  If our government is inefficient and foolish, I would argue at this point it's because their corporate paymasters want it to be so.

[luvrbus]

 I read where health care, pharmaceutical and the environmentalists   are the largest group of lobbyists like 78% lobby for those 3 groups Wall Street is next. Now not for profit health care is a different can of worm since we now have the government involved. I been undergoing some tests a PET/Scan cost $16,180.00 and 2 ultrasounds cost $5,137.73. Now all your medical records go into a database controlled by the Government you doctor has to do that by Federal Law, we have way too much government in our lives and getting more each passing day 

[chessie4905]

Of course companies spend so much money on lobbying. Its just protection money to encourage the laws won't hurt their businesses. Just like when Al Capone solicited protection money. Today's enforcement is IRS, SEC, etc.

[Nova Eona]

I read where health care, pharmaceutical and the environmentalists   are the largest group of lobbyists

I don't know where you're reading that, but I can't find any sources suggesting that environmentalist groups are even making it onto the ranked lists.  Health care and pharma sure, and look how much that has benefitted us common people compared to other developed nations.

Of course companies spend so much money on lobbying. Its just protection money to encourage the laws won't hurt their businesses. Just like when Al Capone solicited protection money. Today's enforcement is IRS, SEC, etc.

At what point does 'protection to make sure the laws won't hurt the company' turn into 'persuasion to make sure the laws actively help the company'?  Serious question here.  if I was an amoral corporate lawyer (as if there are other kinds), I could argue convincingly that child labor laws harm my textile business or whatever, so wouldn't paying politicians to have those changed just be protecting my company's interests?

If you're referring to the IRS, SEC and such with all their myriad loopholes designed to make tax evasion and market manipulation easier for the wealthy and powerful, then that 'enforcement' is less Al Capone and more Tiny Tim.  The IRS and SEC just seem like boogiemen to us little guys who lack the power to dodge audits and pay off million-dollar fines for unlawful schemes which netted billions.  Granted, occasionally a C-level somewhere will get thrown to the wolves and have to retire on a private tropical island just to assure us common people that they're accountable to the law too, but that's just the cost of doing business after all.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Oh, I forgot to tell you, Bus Conversion Magazine will have a "Supply Chain Adjustment" of $10/issue starting in January.   That will cover the cost of fuel for me to deliver the magazines each month.   

As for breakfast, a good breakfast down here in Mexico runs about $6 and also includes beans and rice.  Just sayin'.

[luvrbus]

I don't know where you're reading that, but I can't find any sources suggesting that environmentalist groups are even making it onto the ranked lists.  Health care and pharma sure, and look how much that has benefitted us common people compared to other developed nations.

I read it in article published by a college back east in my lawyer's office 4 or 5 years ago, it listed the name of all the lobbyist lol most were X politicians. They were supposed to stop x politicians from lobbying after they left office that hasn't happened, yet I know of. Now they lobby while in office making deals and passing laws. By the end of the year this country will be close to 40 trillion in debt still printing money with no Lone Ranger and Tonto on the horizon

[Nova Eona]

Yes far too much of DC and politics in general is the old revolving door between politicians and lobbyists, each going round and round.  The only solution is to get corporate money out of politics entirely - the corps don't care about the national debt, that's just extra incentive to 'privatize' nonprofitable services i.e. hand them over to the corporations so they can gouge us for fundamental services.  Just look at our prison system.