Yes, the price, the profit and the surplus accumulated is an empirical value of its worth to all of us. The distribution, or ownership, of that value and its investment is a moral value.

The distribution of the wealth is entirely inequitable because the energy industry is too consolidated. When Adam Smith said the business persons should be allowed to enjoy the full value of their property, he was referring to the usurpation and expropriations of royalty, and a free and unconsolidated marketplace.

We do not have a free and unconsolidated energy market, so prices are exorbitant and the ability to pay for it is inequitable. We do, however, have wealthy oligarchs that consider themselves royalty. What we do and don't have is antithetical to Adam Smith. I don't hear our politicians preaching that. I wonder why?

Very best wishes.

John Edwards was preaching it, but not enough people listened. And of course those who would lose their "rights" to property that really belongs to us all made sure the populist message of John Edwards did not get out...at least not with any FREE air time on "their" networks...which is ALL of the networks.

Bottom line: Greedy people have no consciences.
Trickle down economics does not work because the greedy people keep clogging the drain.
Unregulated corporations attract greedy people like a cadaver attracts maggots.
The era of the Robber Barons and then the Great Depression proved that unregulated businesses have only short term unsustainable goals.
Now the neo-cons are proving once again that the only way to have a sustainable economy is to protect it from the greedy.
We need sensible regulation to ensure that we have a sustainable economy for all Americans.

Oil is down below $91 a barrel/

Lundberg letter said this morning that prices of gasoline are going to go up because there is a shortage of the additive required for summer gasoline. Prices are set to go up immediately.

Last summer the excuse was the war and refinery capacity.

Give me a break. Impeach cheney and bush.

Nationalize OUR oil NOW!

If I may, Shell, or should I say Royal Dutch Shell, is not an American corporation, has operations here but is not American. Furthermore, and even though I dislike Bush, he is not the reason for the high oil prices. Prices are set by one the market, i.e. what the market will pay per barrel and a little group called OPEC. Now Bush may come from oil but to say he has control over OPEC and gas prices is, I think, giving him too much credit. Now OPEC may be greedy and an "evil" group but with out them there may not be such a drive for clean energy. Only when prices go up do we here the media go crazy. Where was the drive for that when oil was at 30 or even 50 a barrel?

Ummm, that sounds like a huge "greedy" amount but when you really look at it and break it down the "net profit for the quarter came in at a more modest $5.7 billion."(forbes). Still that is a lot of mullah unless you look at it from its market share aspect. I mean $20 isn't the same to Hillary or Obama as may be to you or I, right? And if you look at closer you'll see that it missed analysts "forecasts by 33%", which is a big deal, and also that a large part was due in fact to the rise in oil prices and selling off assets. And if you decide to look it that close you can also see that "profits from oil products fell 40.4% year-on-year"

Guardian-I’ve seen your other blogs, and was quite saddened to see the lack of facts on this one. With that name I hope you do more research on other topics. Guard us from corruption and evil, not truth!

The last time oil was at $50 a barrel, Cheney persuaded the Saudi royal family to let the price slide to pressure Iran into a compromising position. This was a political act with economic consequences. It was an arbitrary and capricious act of royalty and the conceit of royalty, something the free market will prevent by design. Only when it is allowed to consolidate does it become arbitrary and capricious.

Pricing and profit are an empirical measure of value. How else are you going to measure it... with some wisw old man with a white beard in a dark cave telling us all what we should produce at what price? No. Markets quite naturally exist and operate toward an efficiency of not only economic efficiency, but a political legitimacy. That's why Adam Smith's first and foremost canon of government is to ensure a free and unconsolidatd marketplace. Adam Smith was not designing a mechanism for operationalizing greed for the common good, he was observing its operation in nature and exhorting its value.

Very best wishes.

A great American President named Jimmy Carter tried to tell America in 1976 that we must make our country self sufficient for national security reasons. The Big Oil companies sabotaged his presidency by getting Iran to occupy our embassy.They got Reagan elected and had all of the small independent Oil producers go out of business when Saudi Arabia cut the price of oil from 43.00 a barrel to 12.00 a barrel. This was all planned out by Big Oil, and Ronald Reagan. Had we listened to Jimmy Carter then we would not be in this mess now.

My DREAM TEAM to beat the coming RECESSION of 2008:

Hillary Rodham Clinton as President of the USA
Barack Obama as Vice President of the USA
Wesely Clark for Foreign Affairs

THIS Dream Team will beat the next recession!!!!!!

Yeah, and ExxonMobil posted record earnings of 40 billion. It's called war profiteering, and it's illegal. Wake-up America!