Why can't oil companies invest a piece of their profits to lower the cost of gasoline?

Oil executives had to go before congress to explain their high profits. The 5 biggest oil companies made a profit of 123 billion dollars last year. What if they took just 1 billion of those, and sunk it into the price of gasoline. Would that lower the cost signifigantly? I think the price is artificial, though I am no expert on economics. If everyone is hurting so terribly on prices, then the oil companys should be hurting to.Why can't oil companies invest a piece of their profits to lower the cost of gasoline?
They are evil and greedy...nothing more....nothing less......Why can't oil companies invest a piece of their profits to lower the cost of gasoline?
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This would be then called socialism and not capitalism.





There are several reasons for the price of oil increasing. Some of them, of course, are artificial. But currently one of the main reasons is that oil productions are down; the weakening dollar has brought investors to buy commodities like oil and gold.
they wouldn't do that because it would reduce profits, furthermore, the price is partly set on the supply which is provided mainly by OPEC.
because they want your money
Stop blaming the oil companies. That is such a game.





First of all, in the USA, the country with limited government and the right to pursue happiness, what place does the Federal government, who has no authority granted to it under the Constitution to do so, have hastling a business because they made a lot of money? Who are they to say what is too much or place a limit on the success of an individual or group of individuals who are following the law? That is Socialism and Communism. If someone works hard for something they should be able to keep it and not have the government steal it or covetous individuals petition them to do so on their behalf. Stop using their product and they will price gas competitively and then you'll see how much tax is up on that gallon of gas.





The real blame in the crisis ultimately lies with our Federal government and the agencies they created at the insistence of environmental whackos. The EPA needs to be abolished. It creates such onerous regulations and those regulations are the reason for our current energy 'crisis.'





They have not allowed an oil company to build a new refinery in over 30 years despite the increase in demand for gasoline. Think that won't lead to an environmental catastrophe with aging facilities that are being asked to do more than they were designed to?





They don't allow for new drilling in areas of our own nation where we could actually achieve energy independence; ie ANWR, the Everglades, the Dakotas. And yet as a result of their policies, China will soon begin drilling for oil only 300 miles off our shores in our own hemisphere.





And now there is the global warming scam that is causing the US economy to flounder because we are being asked to fund programs that will have no effect while the largest 'offending' nations of the world will not be held to the same standard. Look at the alternative fuel scam for example. Ethanol is horribly inefficient and it is driving the cost of food through the roof world wide.





Complain about energy use and the same agencies won't allow new nuclear power plants which can be operated for a year with so little fuel that it would fit in an average person's desk? Our technology and production quality is so much better today than when nuke plants were first built back over thirty years ago. Yet these extremists keep us from using the most efficient power source that exists.





Some day the majority of Americans will get off their butts and revolt against these agencies who are driven by fear of a bunch of ignorant sixties activists and their children.