Driving Me Crazy - Part I

Yesterday, executives from five oil companies appeared before a House committee to explain why they should continue to receive billions of dollars in tax breaks despite making a profit of $123 BILLION last year. Yup, billion with a "b."

An interesting article about this meeting is here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080401/ap_on_go_co/congress_oil. I especially love the part that references testimony these same executives gave back in November 2005, noting that one of them said, "What goes up almost always comes down." Now, I think I have a pretty good memory, and I can't remember a time that gas prices have ever come down.

Reading this article prompted me to do a little more research. In 2005, the average CEO compensation at the 15 largest oil companies was $32.7 million. Read it again - $32.7 million. I would really like to know what one person can do with $32.7 million.

For that amount of money, I could fill up my Honda Civic 1,090,000 times at the current gas price.

The problem we have here is that someone who makes $32.7 million a year cannot possibly understand the impact that a gas price of $3.29 per gallon has on the average person.

Why can't each of these selfish CEOs cut his salary back to $2 million per year (still plenty of cash, IMHO) and put the rest back into R&D for renewable energy, better wages for the lowest employees on the totem pole, etc.?

I know this is very wishful thinking and will never happen, so instead I'll be writing to my senators and representatives to encourage them to say that enough is enough.

Remembering when gas was $0.99 a gallon,
Cindi