comment: >
  
  Probably a test run before states like California try to do the same thing.
context: My my. Exxon is really chest thumping. Does anyone actually think they will take their bat and ball and go home?  Eu should tell Exxon (and Chevron) to pound sand. >
  
  no business is guaranteed profits. The idea that they kept pricing artificially high in the name of recovering past lost profits is nuts, and it only works because we have a series of cartels monopolizing the entire trade. Any other industry would be in court for the amount of price fixing going on. Oil prices were long the same as they ever were while we paid triple at the pump. They don't have any additional costs, and the 2020 loss was well made up for by 2021, their profits exceeded the losses for 2020 and expected profits for both years. 
  The price of gasoline has been pure opportunism, and we are so beholden that we are afraid to address it - or they might punish us by charging even more. Unbelievable, completely captured economy. >
  
  
  no business is guaranteed profits
  
  What sucks about this is that many parts of the US government need the stock market to continue going up. Lots of things like retirement funds, futures markets, employment, etc. requires the economy to continue growing. So feeding profits to companies like Exxon helps with that, basically giving them guaranteed profits. It really sucks. >
  
  That was a huge mistake. Getting retirement and putting them onto an investing club hoping that businesses will always increase profits, while we have contrary tax laws that push businesses to SPEND all potential profits and encourage hiring and growth. At the same time we say “oh but to fund 401k, the companies have to LOOK good so people keep “investing” their retirements. In order to do that, businesses need to extract profit and pay dividends - reducing the money that can be used instead for growth, since we don’t tax business expenses like cost of goods sold or employees (payroll tax is not the same because it’s the same for every employee, not pro or regressive like income tax).
  We have two different incentives pushing opposite directions, invest money, helps our economy, or profit-taking, pleasing the investor class, but does very little for our general economy (no incentive for the profits will be re-invested at all when they can use financial instruments to multiply the invested money) >
  
  We are basically taking money from the poor / young people and giving it to older / wealthier people. >
  
  Always have been >
  
  I wish I could read:
  "EU sues Exxon Executives of the past 50 years in Den Haag for crimes against humanity - Freezing their Assets."
  One day as a headline.
  Those who know know. >
  
  What are you referring to? >
  
  Oh were do I start:
  Wikipedia
  Or if you don't like reading:
  A Video
  And another one >
  
  You should read the latest comments in those youtube videos. The brainwashed masses have descended on it to defend their pay masters, except they are not paid at all... >
  
  I dont want to live on this planet anymore >
  
  They should double the tax. >
  
  Agree, on top of the windfall tax the EU should pass another tax for any company that denies climate change or funds it ~~indirectly~~ directly. Let those assholes bear the cost of fixing the shit they created.
  Edit: as it seems to cause some keyboard warriors to go bananas >
  
  Surely pretty much EVERY company in the world indirectly funds climate change? Like, even the local takeaway probably does it indirectly. >
  
  Causing and funding are two very different terms >
  
  But INDIRECTLY funding would apply to practically every business and individual.
  You fill your car up? Indirectly funding climate change. Pay for heating? Indirectly funding climate change.
  This isn't saying that they shouldn't add more taxes to those oil companies. But they're pretty directly funding climate change, whereas the rest of the world is indirectly funding it. >
  
  US should have one as well, instead of just silly threats. >
  
  Every time the US does something to industry wrongdoing, it amounts to a mild slap on the wrist.
  I don't care what party you support, way too many politicians on both sides have their hands in industry pockets. >
  
  The federal govt is in the hands of wealthy elites and corporations that value proifts over everything else. >
  
  The way we run any election in this country, it take a LOT of money to campaign. Candidates need wealthy backers to get their promises in front of the people. And, as soon as they're elected, they need to start lining up money for their next run. It's only natural that their decisions are going to favor those wealthy backers. 
  Notice I used the word "promises" - that's only so much bs to get people to vote for them. There are exceptions to that rule, but far too few. >
  
  Of course they did. Anything that will eat into their insane profits is a declaration of war.
  And the idiots in rhe US blame Biden for the high prices because the right wing pundits who are also profiting are telling them so. >
  
  What the fuck do they mean by "arguing Brussels exceeded its legal authority"? Doesn't the EU set the fucking laws? What would limit their authority in this case? >
  
  Probably something to do with international treaties, which the corporations have a major hand in writing. There's usually some clauses that boil down to "if the government changes the laws and that causes us to lose out on profits, then the government must pay us what we expected to profit". I believe it's called corporate sovereignty. >
  
  This only goes so far though. If your business is profiting off making a substance so toxic its use is banned by the government, you can’t sue for loss of profits. >
  
  I could be wrong but i dont think oil and gas has been banned by the government >
  
  Mandating minimum percentages of EV, offering tax benefits for buying EV, setting energy efficiency standards in buildings, climate change initiatives, all cuts down on oil/gas/coal usage and revenue; in essence all those policies effect on oil/gas profits.
  Governments have the right to tax businesses operating in their country however they see fit. And considering that oil/gas is a limited natural resource, governments should control its production and usage, not cartels that make as much profit as they see fit and threaten everyone dependent on those resources when governments try to rein in cartel’s activities. >
  
  Exxxxxxon can go fuck themselves >
  
  If the law protects these companies who are destroying the earth from having to share their record profits with the people who live on the earth then
  it’s time to change the laws >
  
  Oh no! We'll be taxed for the massive profits we make on a global scale causing massive damage >
  
  Yeah, they won't be able to buy that 4th vacation home or 3rd yacht. >
  
  "We price gouged your people out of that money fair and square!"
  Serious fines and penalties plus prison time and massive fines for the decision makers is the only cure for shit like this. >
  
  A little nationalization just to piss them off sounds good. Easier to wind the resource down as we convert to others. >
  
  That's how you know it'll work. >
  
  How about all countries put a windfall tax on all energy and food corporations? Fuck their excessive profiteering at our expense. >
  
  Imagine being so fucking delusional you think food, which is literally the most competitive market in human history gets excessive profits.
  How about you get yourself some Econ 101 book before continuing to be such an embarrasment? >
  
  Or you could, I dunno, look up actual profit margins and see whats common across the industry. But we can’t have facts getting in front of a juicy story now, can we? >
  
  How about you open up morningstar, FT or whatever and look up margins around the world. Tons of farmers going out of business, grocery retail happy to make 4% net. Bars and restaraunts still reeling from covid.
  It’s spectacularly difficult to earn much excess profit in a business area that has seen competition over literally millenia. >
  
  How about you provide some facts and information instead of just whataboutism? It would certainly help to make you look less like a stubborn sheep and more like a logical person. >
  
  Well, this should be informative. It’ll give our activists at least a possible road map. Hopefully they are paying attention. >
  
  This is why you don’t let big corporations have the power to sue the government like this. >
  
  Exxon about to learn EU is not a state of the US.