Big oil: The rich get richer

Exxon capped a record year with a quarterly profit of $10 billion (yes, that billion with a "b").

Let's see. Mr. and Mrs. America need a second mortgage to pay for a tank of gas and big oil keeps raking in more and more big bucks. An oil man is in the White House.

You don't need a doctorate in economics to see the truth here.

From Reuters:

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday reported a quarterly profit of more than $10 billion, capping a record year dominated by a surge oil and gas prices.

The results pushed up Exxon's profit for the year to a staggering $36.13 billion -- bigger than the economies of 125 of the 184 countries ranked by the World Bank. Profit was up 42 percent from the record results of 2004.

The record earnings are expected to spur calls from politicians and consumer groups for special taxes on Big Oil, as U.S. drivers fume over high gasoline prices.