The Robber Barrons Are Back

Let’s put two oil men in the White House for eight years and see what happens.

From Exxon posts new profit record by Steve Hargreaves:

Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.

That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.

The company returned $10.1 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks, 12% more than last year.

The big international oil companies have been criticized for plowing much of their profits back into stock buybacks and other programs to benefit shareholders, as opposed to exploring for more oil which could bring down the price of crude for everyone.

Critics charge the oil companies with deliberately restricting production in an attempt to keep prices high.