If Profit is Amoral, are Losses Moral?
Sen. Obama in the Washington Post lectures: “I think oil companies are amoral. They want to make as much money as they can for their shareholders, which is what corporations do,” he says. “The difference is the nature of the kind of outsized profits they make that may have no relationship to their investments or their production. The fact, for example, [that] the shortage of refinery capacity could actually increase their profits so the less they invest the more they make indicates that you are not dealing with someone making widgets out there.”
If making profits is amoral, then would the great loss makers of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Countrywide be highly moral businesses?
The concept of the Demand Curve seems to have eluded Sen. Obama in his theocratic views on the morality of making profits.
The definition of “amoral” seems to have eluded you. Hint: it is not synonymous with “immoral” and “moral” is not it’s opposite.
My lame attempt at a joke about Sen. Obama’s lame attempt at economics.
He does say claim there is a difference between the “amoral” corporation and oil companies, which signals that somehow oil companies are something other than amoral (and violate the demand curve).
JBP
Not an economist but – when he says “the difference is” I interpret that as a reference to the “ideal” unmanipulated (haha) working of supply and demand vs. the actual highly manipulated state of affairs in the oil industry – and of course in any industry with enough clout.
Regardless, using the word “amoral” to accuse him of branding profits as “immoral” seems unfair even if cute.
It’s the best I could do with my limited wit.
The oil industry is one of the most competitive in the world. Refiners are in a real bind financially, as consumers are reluctant to pay what is need to keep them afloat.
If there ever was a case of the demand curve behaving as theoretically predicted, the current oil market is a perfect example.
JBP
Thomas Sowell has written some great columns on attitudes like Obama’s towards industry.
What evidence can Obama show he would make better investment decisions than Oil Execs?
If they’ve done a lousy job (and they’re not a very creative lot..consider the achievement of giving us “cyrstal clear” blend of gas) what’s Obama’s management going to do that improves it and at what lost to our liberties and rights if the government takes on the roll of deciding investment.
Leave your response!
Chris Christie vs. Teacher Union Member
Recent Comments
Archives
Recent Posts
Tags
Subscribe
Most Commented
about cdo