What is a billion dollars?

[hedgehog]

In a good year, I make about $35,000. All things being equal, I would have to work only about 28,500 years to earn a billion dollars. Alternatively, if a person earned 1% on a billion dollars, that would be $10 million, or as much as I could make in 285 years.

[nykym]

1. I hear you!

Then again would you be happy or only think you were happy!

[leftofcool]

2. More than I have or ever will have.

[Winterblues]

3. Why do you hate America?

Boggles the mind, Especially when Exxon made for six straight years a NET PROFIT, after every single expense was paid, OVER One Hundred Million Dollars a Day A Frigging DAY... After Every Expense was paid, in the pocket money..

[hedgehog]

4. The real question isn't how much money Exxon made, but how many people

split that profit and how it was split. My guess is that we'd discover 10% of Exxon shareholders pocketed 90% of the profit, or something like that. Of course, the situation is complicated by all the pension funds and endowments that hold Exxon stock. The profit that went to someone's 401K or to a college to pay a scholarship, that's one thing. The profit that went into Warren Buffet's piggy bank, that's something else.

Again, the question of who owns Exxon determines who controls Exxon and all its activities world wide. I am somewhat suspicious of Exxon's activities regarding the environment in the 3rd world (out of sight) and indigenous peoples (again, out of sight), not to mention its efforts to convince Americans that global climate change is a Commie hippy plot to take away our precious SUVs.


If the major shareholders in Exxon would force the company to clean up its act regarding employees, the environment and indigenous peoples, it would do a hell of a lot more good than donating to charity.