"Outrage" about profits

So ExxonMobil announces today that they've broke its own record for the highest-ever quarterly profit for a U.S. company and the news just keeps showing people complaining that gas prices are high and exasperatingly saying "how dare they" make these profits along with the gratuitous b-roll footage of gas price signs showing $4.39 a gallon at the BP station at the corner of LaSalle & Clark.

I guess the era of stealing music online and posting to YouTube clips of your favorite TV shows, although there's copyright laws in place, the mob mentality has crept into Capitalism.

How dare they??? They damn well dare. It's called business, baby, and there's no way in hell we or the government should tell them that they have to give up profits just to make us happy and lower gas prices.

First of all, all of their profits don't just come from the US, so you can't just leap to that assumption (although I'm sure they aren't hurting) and second of all, even with their record profits, their posting was LESS than Wall Street expected and so the stock took a dumper today and lost almost 5%.

It's NOT our right as American's to share in the profits of the companies we buy food, services and other things from. It's our right not to buy from them OR to buy their stock and reap the rewards just the same, but that's the extent of it. America needs to stop whining.

We don't really produce anything anymore in this country. In fact, what we produce most is consumption. That's our main product these days and until people realize that if you only consume and don't produce, you don't get to call the shots at how much things cost, well, then they are in for a big awakening.

Look I think it sucks that I'm paying whatever for gas too, but we need to use our brains and cut back. Supply and Demand still works people, if we lower our demand, than they HAVE to lower prices to get us to buy again.