Think about it. Who has benefited the most from the way Detroit has sold us on the SUV and other gas-guzzling cars and trucks. Easy. It is the people who were selling us the gas.
Why should the taxpayers be asked to fund this type of activity when the oil companies are sitting on record profits? Last year alone, the top ten oil companies earned profits of over $127 billion dollars. And how much are the big three asking for now? $34 billion. I think we should send them to Houston instead of Washington.
The oil companies have been reporting record profits for years, so the $127 billion in 2007, added to what they are going to make in 2008 will more than cover what Detroit is asking for. And remember these are the profits, after the oil giants have already spent everything they need to produce the gasoline and to invest in the future, so by sharing that with the oil companies they can't complain that it will impact future supplies.
Where did the oil companies get all this money? From us. We have already contributed to a fund which can be tapped to bail out the auto industry. Why do we have to pay for it with taxes?
And just think that ExxonMobile is sitting on $37 billion in cash today. Just that one company can cut a check and save the US auto industry. The others have to have some cash laying around as well. And what are they going to do with all that cash anyway? Invest it in the stock market?