The outrageous payout to retiring Exxon-Mobil CEO Lee Raymond of 400 million dollars along with increasing gas prices points to the insanity of out-of-control capitalism.

Mr. Raymond will walk away with the staggering sum because he has led the company to, well, staggering profits. Exxon-Mobil reportedly took in about 36 billion dollars in profits the previous year. Thus, Ol' Ray "deserves" the payola.

Of course, in "real life," such a staggering amount of profit can only come by greed, deceit, and price-gouging. This has become the way for modern-day capitalism in America. The average American making his $50,000 or so a year can in no way relate to the outlandish sums of money being discussed. He is nothing more than a target for destruction. Be it at the job or at the pump, "Joe Sixpack" has become a meaningless fool paying for the outlandish luxury of the few.

There is now talk of cracking down on insane profits by oil companies. Anything is better than nothing. Taking at least some of that profit and re-distributing it back to lower prices is at least a start in the right direction. Let us not be fooled, though. Gas prices will stay high perhaps for good. America has sucked up so much oil over the years and can't get enough of gas-guzzling SUVs that it is time to pay the piper. Other nations like China and India are slowly becoming world powers and the need for energy follows such a pursuit. Thus, more and more people are looking for oil. More demand will mean higher prices-particularly if the same amount of oil is being found.

It is now pretty obvious when people are "left to their own devices," bad things often follow. Rampant capitalism is destroying America. Yes, it has done many good things. But that was also when there were checks and balances on that system along with a pride in being American. Now it is all about "screwing your fellow man;" not exactly religious in tone.

For those who "pray" to capitalism and look at 400 million dollar payouts as a good thing, remember this: Many of these alleged capitalists walking away with this kind of money are anything but capitalists. They are opportunists. When things are going well for them they speak of competition and the beauty of a capitalist system. However, when things go bad, like the airline industry, watch these same people suddenly become socialists looking for massive government handouts. Talk about a scam.

The "America Way" was built on a capitalist system with compassion for its workers and people. Now we have a sort of "Frankenstein capitalism" where India and China are viewed as alternatives to the American worker. When it is never enough, only bad things can happen.