Kevin on March 15, 2008 at 07:14 pm

Should read:…….. if one is able to save the maximum in an 401K starting at age 21 and just did it for ten years, they would have a million dollars at age 65, assuming inflation did not affect his investment.

Of course my my questions or as you call them "mini-diatribe" in your effort to divert unwanted attention from positions some took are assumptions. I clearly labled them as such:
Chief RZ ………. So I will again assume that none of you have invested in the market, or have not invested enough to make a difference in your finances. Why is that? Is it because you do not have enough left after expenses to invest? What happened. You all knew the wisdom of good choices. What prevented you other than not having enough to invest? Are you guys in the same boat as the ones you are decrying? The daily grind left you with nothing or very little to invest?
ellinas on March 14, 2008 at 09:43 am

Find another way to disredit me. This one is not working in your favor.

On the subject of "corporations don't pay taxes" – that's generally true, IF they are doing it right and have all of their documents in order. If not, they get whacked…sometimes VERY hard (plus interest, plus penalty). Of course these tax programs, like sales tax, are called "voluntary", but if a company does not license for the program they won't be allowed to do business.

The Federal tax rate for diesel fuel is $0.244/gallon. States generally have their own fuel tax that ranges from the low of $0.10 – $0.55/gallon. Some states even have "surcharges". This is another #cents/gallon that is equivalently a "fee" for buying fuel in that state.

So, to summarize: Governments LOVE high energy prices, companies that "do it right" wrt audits also LOVE them, and poor schmucks get to stay poor because we aren't taught anything about how "money works" in investments until much later in life when it is almost too late.

While Exxon made over $40 billion in 2007, a 60% increase from 2004, it paid over $100 billion in taxes and royalties.

I thought the increase in tax revenues was due to the tax cuts. Dang.

Those poor oil companies having to pay royalties to those peoples they are taking oil from! Oh the injustice

Oh, that poor government taking all that money for producing absolutely nothing! Oh, the injustice. That's how retarded you guys are. Bitch about Exxon making money which is in turn directed to the people and funds that invest in them, oh the injustice. But not one damn word about that big, fat chunk the government (government over all, right. How about some lip service from ya about freedom next)takes because that's how illogical you are and blind to reason. Way to miss the point as usual. It's not even any fun anymore pointing-out how retarded the left is. But, I'll go on and do it anyway, not out of joy, but obligation.

And I am one of those guys that has worked his ass off, sacrificed, and invested and am starting to reap the rewards from it. Sorry Elinas, sorry that people like you have to be haters and try to project your failures onto others, and ask that they help subsidize your piss-poor life choices (reading between the lines). Maybe one of these days your self-loathing will subside long aenough for you to get your crap together and start doing for yourself.

You all knew the wisdom of good choices. What prevented you other than not having enough to invest? Are you guys in the same boat as the ones you are decrying? The daily grind left you with nothing or very little to invest?

e,

Your mini-diatribe here assumes you know things about the finances of others that you clearly do not. However, what you've written does have value as the basis for a pretty powerful argument in favor of the privatization of the Social Security system. After all, if saving and investing is too difficult for so many individuals, as you seem to be implying here, then clearly the answer is to substantially increase the rate of return on that money which is devoted to savings and retirement. And of course, as in any other transaction, an increase in the return on money spent/invested is likely to actually increase the amount of money allocated. The higher the return, the more money gets invested.

My intent was to say "Oh, poor us." Because we're the ones paying these taxes. The oil industry is just passing them on to us.

Rob,

Good point! Corporation don't pay taxes… they merely collect taxes on behalf of government.

People who advocate raising taxes in response to higher gas prices are either incredibly ignorant or incredibly dishonest.