The Sin of Profit in America

I have read with amusement the gyrations of the left over reports of Exon Mobile making record profits during the most recent quarter. The blogs are full of what a shameful thing it is during these hard times that a Corporation should be so successful. 11 Billion Dollars profit in just three months. What does it say about our culture when citizens chastise a Company that employs (directly) almost 80,000 people. This does not include the employees of the thousands of companies that work indirectly for Exon. But somehow a company that has a successful business model and employes tens of thousands workers is to be scorned by those on the left.

Of course the reporting of profit is a very shallow look at a company's balance sheet. But shallow is where many in our culture reside. In fact, I've had recent posts about this issue and the response I get is usually personal attacks. What does it say about an argument that is reduced to such response? It tells me that the responder is basing opinion on how they feel about the subject. Not what they think. If they think at all.

In my review of Exon's financial status there are a couple of items that need mention. The first is that while Exon is making a profit they are also paying huge amounts worldwide in taxes. The effective tax rate for Exon Mobile last year was 47% (this of course does not include the taxes paid on gains or dividends by the Company's shareholders). In the last 5 years Exon has paid $59-Billion in taxes. The second item worth mention is that while the politicians are quick to pile on by threatening to remove tax breaks (47% isn't enough of a tax rate for some in the political class) they seem to completely ignore the reality that taxes have consequences. Let's say you tax Exon another 5 or 10 billion. Are the politicians so blinded by their feelings they actually believe that the money would come from Exon? Those taxes would be immediately be passed to the consumer. If gas prices at the pump are not high enough for you, repeal what tax breaks are available to Exon and you'll see more of an increase.

Our President continues to work hard to "spread the wealth around" and that is exactly what a Company like Exon Mobile does. The difference between their efforts and our President's is the President is using the full force of the Federal Government while Exon uses the marketplace where consumers/workers have a choice whether or not to participate.