Did Exxon really need to make $10 Billion from Oct to Dec of 2007?

Every oil company is making tons of money. Why? Because, despite the rising prices, people are driving more than ever. There are more cars on the road and the demand for fuel is through the roof. Supply and demand -- economics at its most basic elements. The greater the demand and the more limited the supply, the higher the prices will be.

Exxon doesn't dictate the price of oil, by the way. That's mostly determined in the Middle East, where OPEC decides how much oil to produce. That drives the gas prices over here. You can get as mad as you want with Exxon and write as many letters as you'd like to your senators, but it won't have any effect. We're a free-market economy. If you want them to get involved in oil, be prepared for them to next invade the supermarket and Wal-Mart. Price controls are not part of the U.S. economy, and they should never be so. We're not socialist by the designs of our founding fathers. Change the basis of our economy, and you'll also need to change our Constitution. Then we cease to be the United States of America. I doubt that's what you're looking for.