Why 'APRIL FOOLS' in August?

NO category for FINANCIAL! How come?

PROFITS & GOUGING

© - Tom Hyland - 08-02-09


This is kind of a ‘Follow-up’ on my ‘Crooks in Congress’ recent theme. I was looking something up, and GOOGLE presented so much info thereon, I got the idea to BACK UP my previous rantings with info from other, more prominent, confirming sources.

Like everything else in life - you have to do some work yourself if you want to seek the TRUTH. No one is going to ‘spoon-feed’ you - especially when the MEDIA tends to be either biased, or filled with ‘canned’ propaganda!


PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY -

From - http://www.actupny.org/treatment/PharmcoProfits.html


Pharmaceutical companies are in the business
of making money from people's sickness.

This is post by Scott Gottlieb in 2002 - 7 years ago!

That, Dear Readers, is only the HEADLINE - do yourself a favor - go there and read the details! I tried to copy & paste a very pertinent section, but the format did not allow it. Note the word ‘sickness’ in the heading - it is NOT ‘wellness’!

As an industry, the PHARMS have grossed Profits of 4-5 Times that of ALL other industries - including OIL! Understand this - IF the other major industries had a pretty good year, and squeaked out a mere 10%, on average - THEN - the Pill Pushers made 40% or 50% - just why is this?

Could it be a - CAPTIVE AUDIENCE OF ADDICTED MILLIONS -
THAT THAT DON’T REALLY WANT TO CURE?

While the rest of our economy, as well as the world-at-large, was heading down the ‘CRAPPER’ - SICK PEOPLE STILL HAVE TO TAKE THEIR DAILY PILLS - DON’T THEY?

“Build it and they will come!” - ADDICTION - THAT IS!

Please note that I did not bother to put a separate heading for the CHEMICAL INDUSTRY - because they fall right in line - in collusion with the PHARMS!


OIL INDUSTRY -

From - http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2571

Oil Company Profits and High Gas Prices: Here We Go Again
Posted by Prof. Goose on May 22, 2007 - 4:45pm
A re-print from 2005, and 2006 -

AGAIN - I was unable to copy and paste - there is some really good ‘poop’ here - it explains, in depth, how the whole SYSTEM works - to OUR DETRIMENT!

From Drilling, Producing Crude, to Transporting, to Refining, to Distributing, to the LOCAL GAS PUMPS - the Individual Station Owners are the Worst Offenders, the Worst ‘GOUGERS’ - “CHARGE WHAT THE TRAFFIC WILL BEAR” seems to be their motto!

What they charge Per Gallon has NOTHING to do with Oil Barrel Prices - PURE GREED - and guess what, Pilgrims - The Government does NOTHING to control or stop them! Federal, State, City, County - ALL simply SLAP ON MORE TAXES FOR THEIR COFFERS!


INSURANCE INDUSTRY -

From - http://newsbusters.org/node/10945

GMA Anchor Slams Insurance Industry Profits; Highlights Calls for More Regulation

Posted by Scott Whitlock - Feb. 29, 2007 -

This article was all about the HUGE PROFITS REAPED by insurance companies - right AFTER THE HURRICANE KATRINA FIASCO!

GO - READ - LEARN - THEN, WAKE UP - BITCH - MOAN - GROAN!

The current major concentration is about how the insurance companies, and the industry as a whole, are still SCREWING THE PUBLIC - by their control of the Healthcare Industry -

Denying claims, hidden clauses in contracts to hide the absence of coverages for Catastrophic Illness and Major Medical Claims, Pre-Existing Conditions, Exorbitant Deductibles and Co-Pays, Cancelling Policies of people and families who have LOST THEIR JOBS - LOST THEIR HOMES - LOST THEIR DIGNITY!

Meanwhile - the CEO’s, Executives, Boards of Directors, and even some Stockholders are living ‘HIGH OFF THE HOG!’

WALL STREET ‘FORMER’ PROFITS -

From -
http://seekingalpha.com/article/81675-where-did-wall-street-s-profits-go


Where Did Wall Street's Profits Go?

by: Barry Ritholtz June 17, 2008

His quote from the NYT -

“Only a year ago, Wall Street reveled in an era of superlatives: record deals, record profit, record pay. But a mere 12 months later, nearly half of the profits that major banks reaped during that age of riches have vanished.
The numbers are staggering. Between early 2004 and mid-2007, a period of unprecedented wealth on Wall Street, seven of the nation’s largest financial companies earned a combined $254 billion in profits.
But since last July, those same banks — Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — have written down the value of the assets they hold by $107.2 billion, gutting their earnings and share prices. Worldwide, the reckoning totals $380 billion, much of which reflects a plunge in the value of tricky mortgage investments."

For you really enthusiastic financial ‘Whizzes’ out there, this article includes a few charts and graphs, to whet your appetite - one in particular shows the Seven Biggest Corps Ratios of EARNINGS to WRITE-DOWNS -

By a mere ‘stroke of the pen’ so to speak, they were able to EVAPORATE their prior EXORBITANT PROFITS -

“SEE BOSS - I’M BROKE - I NEED HELP - I NEED A RAISE!”

and Congress says - “DUH ! OKAY !”

Again, do yourself a favor, and wake up! The ‘Handwriting was on the Wall’ the BIG WHEELS - CEO’s AND CONGRESS KNEW IT - but passed their STUPIDITY and GREED onto our childrens’ and grand-childrens’ BACKS!




SUMMARY


When huge corporations of every kind and description have ‘HAY-DAYS’ don’t you think that they should be sensible enough to ‘SQUIRREL AWAY’ some of those immense profits - for a ‘RAINY DAY?’

When an individual like you or I does not do so - we are labeled as - STUPID! The old tale of the Fiddling Grasshopper and the Diligent Ant comes to my mind.

CORPORATIONS of every industry have been SCREWING US for over a half of a CENTURY - and the ‘Government’ ASSISTS THEM!

What is wrong with this Picture?

Imagine the TITANIC sinking -

the CAPTAIN and all the OFFICERS own, control, and have -

ALL THE LIFE-JACKETS and LIFE-BOATS - which they HOARD -

only occasionally releasing a mere handful, here and there -

to actually CAUSE PANIC and DISPAIR ...

Is that how Capitalism and Profit-Seeking is SUPPOSED to work?


... and THE SILENT MAJORITY JUSTS KEEPS TREADING WATER ...


GULP! GULP! GULP!


© - TKH