The big lie: How the oil companies are ripping us off

Three is Exxon.

Apropos of very little, if this is headed where I think it is.

 

It's a favorite Republican parlor game. The profit margins in the oil business aren't as high as they are in the ... (name your industry)!

Here's the proper answer to this: Go fuck yourself. Different industries have different profit margins, based on a variety of factors. If you don't like digging holes in the ground, take your $80 billion and go home.

 

Gannett
Exxon
Shell
Tribune

"Go fuck yourself?" Way to raise the discourse around here, spinning. Great job.

 

Damn, I thought I had it!

Oh, well.

 

What year are we talking about for those numbers?

Our paper has the highest profit margin in Tribune, and reports say it's "down" to 15%.

And that doesn't do a whole hell of a lot of good if it takes a (rapidly shrinking) double-digit progit margin just to pay interest on a $13 billion debt.

 

Current numbers taken from Yahoo! finance. Probably ended second quarter.

 

So the only Republican businessmen are in the oil business?
Public newspaper companies are taking FULL ADVANTAGE of the current climate to slash jobs and cut their sections to ribbons so they can convince Wall Street the days of 30 percent profit margins can return.
Why do newspaper companies have to turn 30 percent when no other industry comes close? The Street says so. So the newspaper suits slash jobs and newshole and turn their product to crap.
And you're fine with that, just so you can get in another swipe at Big Oil?

 

I still haven't figured out why this is a political issue. Dems on one side, Republicans on the other.

Makes no sense to me.

 

Who said anybody anything like that?

 

Comparing profit margins from different industries? Outstanding distraction.

 

Except that Blair was a housepet of ol' Howell's . . . and repeated warnings lodged by
some of Blair's editors went wholly unheeded.

The guilt of a highly-placed Southen liberal gave us a running-around-loose Jason Blair.

 

Uh, Inky -- perhaps you'd like to check Spinning's lefthanded go f--- yourself post.