[Alan Roehrich]

That 20 gallon fill up you did yesterday? The one that cost you around $64?

You'll be happy to know that your state and federal government enjoyed taking in $7.60 of that.

The oil company that produced those 20 gallons of gas made about $1.34. Oh, that includes what the station that you bought the gas at made.

Yep, a massive, overwhelming, $0.07 (rounded up, by the way) per gallon the oil company and the gas station made on you, for providing you a product.

Of course, the government needed that paltry $0.38 per gallon they made on you, ostensibly for the road you drove on.

Oh, and you can thank those same government leaches for another $10-$12 of that new $64 hole in your wallet. Why?

Because you paid extra for an ethanol subsidy (which cost you around 10% of your federally mandated fuel economy you paid extra on your vehicle for).

You also paid for extra for having to have a "special" blend of that gasoline because of your street address. Yes, those of you in Division 3 got different gas than those of you in Division 1, or those in Division 5. In fact, a lot, if not most of you in the same Division got different gas than others in a different part of your Division.


Yes, those evil dastardly "big oil" companies. How dare they make up to 2.1% profit. A massive $2.1%. I mean, really, 2.1%? What are they thinking?

That's right, according to Fortune 500, the profit margin for the petroleum refining industry is 2.1%.

Crude oil production (drilling it and pumping it out of the ground) pays off at 11.5%. When you combine it with the mining industry.

Your ISP, that lets you browse Ken's website only makes 19.4% profit.

Your phone company only makes 20%.

Your cable or satellite provider only makes 20%.

The company that made your aspirin, antacid, cold and flu medication, or prescription drugs only made 19.3%.

The company that made all the things in your doctor's office or the hospital only made 16.3%.

The railroad that hauled a lot of that stuff only made 12.6%.

Your retirement investment firm only made 11%.

Only if you combine both drilling and pumping with refining and delivery does the profit margin possibly reach 13.6%.

However, that 13.6% includes the profit that the entity that owns the mineral rights makes. Or, in other words, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or any other host of nations.

By the way, the $0.38 per gallon the government makes DOES NOT include what the government makes on the mineral rights. They lease the mineral rights for billions of dollars. That's right, those oil rigs you see on public land, the government is making billions of dollars off of them, and you are paying for it. You even pay the salary of those guys and gals riding around in vehicles you bought, so the government can over see their billions of dollars they make as part of "big oil".

Oh, yeah. That 13.6% profit? It is not made just on gasoline and diesel fuel. Just about everything that has plastic or rubber in it contains refined petroleum. So to assume they're making 13.6% on every gallon of gas or diesel you buy is absurd, and not even close to the truth.