[TheRealVille]

It is also an indisputable fact that profit margins in the oil industry are tiny compared to many other industries. In terms of dollars, profits are large because companies like Exxon are huge and employ tens of thousands of employees. Profits should always be considered in the context of return on investment. Just stating profits in terms of dollars, with no regard to costs of production, is often done for political purposes.

Americans have suffered more at the pumps more because of high tax rates on gasoline at the pump rather than oil company profits. Companies like Microsoft have much higher profit margins than oil companies.

As for wages, they have declined sharply under Obama's watch, and the gap between the rich and the poor has grown wider.

I think, if you look, the valley between the rich and middle started somewhere around Reaganomics. This void didn't start with, or grow under Obama. He has been fixing things, although I'll concede that he isn't doing it fast enough for you guys. As the saying goes, republicans drove us to near depression under Bush, but republicans are mad because Obama is slow to fix their mess. The republican voting slogan, "We put America in an almost depression, Obama isn't fixing it fast enough, so elect us again, to fix our mess." You have even stated on this forum about Obama's "slow recovery", when your guy screwed America's eyes out. Back to the rich/middle discussion, tax codes, and other things implemented by republicans, that cater to the rich, plus no wage increases for the poor and middle, are the reason the gulf is getting wider, and upward mobility is getting harder. If the rich are the only ones making money, the middle will die(and it's already shrinking), and America dies with them.