Exxon Not to Blame for Profit
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Regarding “Exxon Profit Sets Record, Stirs Anger,” Jan. 31:
I am an Exxon Mobil stockholder. Let me give my perspective on the company’s profit.
We have an economic system called capitalism. Capitalism runs on a basic premise called supply and demand, and the goal of corporations is to profit by filling demand with supply.
I understand that people resent an oil firm’s record profit because America, like the rest of the world, is a slave to petroleum. But that’s not Exxon’s fault, any more than it’s Microsoft’s fault that people use Windows.
So, as a shareholder in a publicly held corporation, when I hear threats of government surcharges on profits, I naturally feel resentful. After all, I invested in this company to make money myself.
That’s what we do in America -- it’s that capitalism thing again.
Michael Burgos
Camarillo
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