Should the oil companies be nationalized?

[panader0]

Exxon Mobile is surely price-gouging. When oil companies can make the highest profits in corporate history, quarter after quarter, while the consumer is paying record high prices for gas, does that not constitute price-gouging? Isn't there a law against that? JackRiddler's post made me look up Salvadore Allende and his nationalization of the copper industry, and the ultimate CIA backed coup that ended his life. Nationalization is an interesting concept. I'm not bright enough to know much about it. But it would seem that given the gouging, shouldn't there be some control, for the good of the people?

[Oregone]

1. Oil is a neccessary, required national resource that our economy depends upon...

By all means, it should be nationalized.

Then again, so should healthcare. Good luck.



But wait...isn't this communistic. What about all the small, mom and pop oil companies that start up in every community every day. Oh the travesty....the poor free market would lose again.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Yes

all industries should be nationalized and run for the benefit of the people.

[bbinacan]

8. Is that you Hugo?

:evilgrin: I guess you think the media should be too. Good grief. :eyes:

[MichiganVote]

3. Yes.

[Cleita]

4. I thought this was thrashed to death on a thread yesterday, but

oh well, I guess I will say yes again. However, considering the USA has become the U$A I wonder if there would be a difference.

[panader0]

7. Oops, I wasn't here yesterday.....

[bbinacan]

5. No and what is your evidence

of price gouging beyond large profits?

“Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.” - Thomas Jefferson

[slackmaster]

6. What Constitutional authority do you believe could be exercised in order to do that?

:shrug:

[panader0]

9. Well, I heard that some people were prosecuted when they

raised their prices on plywood just before a hurricane by a huge percent. They got ya over the barrel, just like the oil companies. It just seems that there should be a level of fairness.

[taught_me_patience]

10. HELL NO

God... this is getting repetitive. There is NO evidence of price gouging. Exxon, Conoco, Chevron, etc make less profit margin than many other large multi-nationals (10-15%). This is NOT excessive profit.

Oil is a GLOBAL resource and there are much larger factors at play that are causing high oil prices.

[MadMaddie]

11. Since the government attacked Iraq over Oil and threatens any

country that decides to trade oil in Euro's that would make me think that Oil is of a National Security concern, part of the Infrastructure, like Electrical grids, bridges etc...since this is the platform the Administration wants to follow then


Yes it should be Nationalized.

[Speck Tater]

12. Sure. Let FEMA run the oil fields Heck of a job! NT

[AndyTiedye]

13. The Government Would Have to Compensate the Shareholders or Violate the Constitution

The oil companies' leases are another matter.

The government is under no obigation to make these leases on such favorable terms,
If any malfeasance was involved in their issuance, existing leases can be declared null and void.

[ladjf]

15. The shareholders should not be asked to give up their

investments in the event of the nationalization of oil companies.

My next statement is likely to be controversial.

The American slave owners should have been reimbursed for the money they paid for the slaves. It might have prevented the Civil war and the cost of reimbursement would have been much less that the cost of war, not to mention the hundreds of thousand casualties.

Of course, they shouldn't have bought slaves in the first place. But, the emancipation proclamation followed by reimbursement would have been a better plan for all sides. Further, the freed slaves would have had paying jobs.

[ladjf]

14. Most definitely. The greedy oil companies are at the heart of

a large part of America's problems.