It's old news that oil companies keep reporting record profits the last few quarters, and that doesn't seem to surprise anyone. Of course revenues are up, just look at the price of gas. But for record profits to be up, as I've said many times, they are gouging us more than ever. What I never realized until now, however, is why.

Not why they're gouging us, because the real truth of capitalism is not that competition keeps prices down but that corporations will always strive to find out how much people are willing to pay. But what I mean is that all of this is basically unintentional. They aren't trying to make record profits - they are just trying to meet growth projections, which are always conveniently and erroneously listed as percentages. If your projects say you'll grow by 15% and you only grow by 10%, your stock tanks. And if your revenues are up because oil prices are through the roof, and you have to tack on another X% on top of that to meet percentage growth projections, voila - you make record profits too.

So as I've also said many times before, it all comes down to the stock market. It ought to be outlawed. The Enron et al fiascos all came down to trying to make a dishonest buck on the stock market. Take away the incentive by making companies only be worth what they actually do, and the fantasy world of the stock market no longer encourages corruption.

Too bad it will never happen.