GAS PAINS: “Endless complaints,
From all our town squares
Regarding petroleum
That keeps our pockets bare.
Prices all going up,
Never going down,
No matter where you pump,
In any area town.
For the last ninety years,
In our generation,
We live in our automobiles,
Not for necessity but for the roaming sensation.
“Our grandparents walked
Never concerned about gasses
Today even our young people
Have over a_ _es.
To really feel room,
With a wholesome grin
Stop all of your driving
And get back on your feet again.”
GAS PAIN: Surprisingly, we have not had a single call, visit or
letter about our rising gasoline prices. Perhaps people have
finally given up.
Usually, locals complain about our high prices compared to those
in neighboring communities. It seems right now, though, that
everyone is being gored by the same ox.
AND ALSO: Consider this: Earning $6,000 – an hour.
We hate to stir up even more anger among consumers but we can’t
pass up news reports about the retirement package Exxon gave its
outgoing chairman Lee Raymond.
All told, it amounted to nearly $400 million – including
pension, stock options and other perks, such as a $1 million
consulting deal, two years of home security, personal security, a
car and driver, and use of a corporate jet for professional
purposes.
Our source is a copyrighted story from ABC News.
Corporate documents recently filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission revealed the new retirement deal and also his
$51.1 million paycheck for 2005. That’s equivalent to $141,000 a
day, nearly $6,000 an hour.
All this news about Exxon’s chairman, of course, comes at a time
of soaring gas prices. In fact, Exxon made the biggest profit of
any company ever – $36 billion – last year alone.
For Exxon’s part, they have defended Raymond’s compensation,
pointing out that during the 12 years he ran the company, Exxon
became the largest oil company in the world and its stock price
went up 500 percent.
Last November, when he was still chairman of Exxon, Raymond told
Congress that gas prices were high because of global supply and
demand. “We’re all in this together, everywhere in the world,” he
testified.
