Leave them alone

People are up in arms because oil companies are reporting record profits. Leave them alone. We are paying high prices for gasoline because of legislators. They have regulated refineries so much that oil companies won't build new refineries. There is plenty of oil, but little capacity to refine it. It's funny that Congress acts like the oil companies are some kind of monster that just cropped up. They created them! Just leave the oil companies alone. These record profits don't just disappear never to be seen again. The money gets paid out in dividends, capital gains, salaries, bonuses, and capital expenditures. With the United States being such a financial powerhouse, the money will come back to us. Corporations don't just "pocket" money. The money gets paid out. Consequently, it gets spent or invested. It is my hope that oil companies will use some money to lobby for relaxed refinery legislation. If law makers really want to reduce gas prices, they'd reduce the taxes on gasoline and other fuels. For every 10 cents an oil company makes, the government makes 50. Don't worry about the oil companies. Worry about the lawmakers.