Dolphin Safe Motorist

Disclaimer: The following paragraphs represent the opinion of one man, the author. If another man shares the same opinion, then it would be the opinions of two men and so forth. Given the nature of the author and his literary style, there may be word usements structured (Martin, 1991) and perhaps even spellings or words in general that may not be actual words. Deal with it.

There is a topic that I'd like to comment on today that is featured on most major news networks on an almost daily basis. LIke many others, I am quite angered by the particular topic. No, it's not the fultility of the war, I could go on great lengths about that. I'm talking about something that may or may not be affected by such a travesty. For weeks, I've sat idly by, stewing in my own juices of disgust, but when it affects other aspects of my life, then it is time to proclaim my frustration of such injustices to an open audience for whomever may read it.

A while back, my debit card's number had been compromised and thus rendered invalid by my financial institution. Someone neglected to tell me this prior to or included with the replacement card and subsequent randomly generated PIN mailed before the card began declining. If anyone has ever had a card decline, it can be an embarrassing and puzzling occurence when you share an account with someone and they are able to use their card without issue. As a matter of coincidence, the cesation of function on this particular card became apparent after work hours on a Friday at the beginning of a three-day weekend with governmental holiday. I would have to place my consumerist compulisions and find time to go to the bank on a more convenient time for them and me.

As I was standing in line waiting to speak with a teller, my credit union has been nice enough to provide those waiting, as well as passersby in the megamarket where the branch is located a pairing of flat panel, LCD screens to advertise their services as well as provide news highlights. It's nice to see where my money is being put to good use. Now, I'm paraphrasing here, but I saw something that frustrated me like a Geico caveman on a moving sidewalk in an airport. "Because of gas prices of over $3 dollars a gallon last year, Exxon Mobil has posted record profits."

Record PROFITS? I don't know who to be angry at more. Is it Exxon Mobil for inflating their prices so they can earn an annual profit of $39.5 BILLION, or the media outlets that lied to us saying that the price of crude oil is going up so the prices have to be increased. Call me selfish. I drive a pickup truck, my wife an SUV, so we may not be the most green people when it comes to the use of finite resourcess. Call me ethnocentric to think that the country that uses the most of said finite resources should get a break on cost where other nations are paying a lot more than we are. Now, for every dollar that we spend on gas, there are various entities that get paid different amounts. That's fine. I understand that. People gotta live.

I didn't learn much in Economics in high school because I was taught by a cynical embittered Viet Nam vet whose focus was on MacroEconomics, a topic most myopic and self-centered high school seniors could care less about. That, and it was first hour during the spring semester. How much do you retain? Anyway. Basic economics teaches that to generate a profit, one has to earn more than they spend on whatever service or good they provide whether it be manhours or tangible product. It doesn't take much to earn a profit. Hell, a profit could be one penny. Sure, [no one] can really live off a penny, but look at the number above. Let's say Exxon Mobil has 10,000 employees. Sounds plausible, right? I like working with easily divisible numbers. If the above profits were shared equally amongst the 10,000 employees, then everyone would be get $39,500. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way and who knows if there are 10,000 employees anyway? My point is. Who needs that much money where the rest of the country is pinching pennies elsewhere so they can just get to work.

Now I hear on the news that the price of milk and eggs are going up because of higher gas prices. Eggs and milk? I'm sure it doesn't end there. What other staples of general consumption will be affected. In the meantime, people may just resort to getting their eggs by buying their filthy feathered producers by the dozen instead of the eggs themselves. Eggs are a popular symbol of birth, especially with the Christian holiday of Easter coming up. This year, they may as well be a symbol of greed.