Political Quotes

“Madam President, soaring fuel prices are impacting every corner of the globe and hitting the pocketbooks of American families and businesses. Today, a gallon of gas costs $4.52--nearly $1.50 more than a year ago. From food to clothing to rent, growing transportation expenses are pushing already rising prices even higher. Yet, while the American people are taking a hit, while the local mom- and-pop stores pay more for energy and goods, big oil companies are announcing giant profits. They have hit the jackpot. Over the first 3 months of the year, ExxonMobil reported $5.5 billion in profits, Chevron recorded $6.3 billion, and Shell raked in $9.1 billion--its largest quarterly profit ever. In just 3 months, these three companies made nearly $21 billion in profits. Now, robust profits are usually a signal for companies to invest in capital and labor and build the foundation for future growth, but Big Oil has different priorities. Rather than increasing business investment or production, these companies have almost uniformly pumped profits directly to their executives and wealthy shareholders. In February, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices skyrocketing, the Financial Times reported that seven of the largest oil companies--including Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell--were expected to return $38 billion to shareholders through buybacks this year, plus another $50 billion in dividends.…”