Posted on 05/06/2008 1:41:16 PM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Politicians are eyeing oil profits like a fat juicy glazed ham.
With all the money Big Oil is making - the top five publicly traded firms pocketed over $120 billion in 2007 alone - and with an election on the horizon, it's easy to see why.
The leading Democratic presidential candidates want a windfall profits tax to do various things, and although their plans differ slightly they generally want to use the money to give Americans a break from skyrocketing energy prices and jumpstart research into renewable energy.
House Democrats have also warned of punitive measures if these massive profits continue at the expense of American consumers.
But while the politicians present their plans, analysts are far less sanguine about whether or not a windfall profits tax would actually help soothe steadily rising energy prices and spur R&D for alternative energy sources.
A consumer rights group says that windfall taxes could actually raise gas prices as oil companies might attempt to squeeze refinery production to recoup their lost profit.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
LOL... Send any idiot who agrees with this back to economics class.
Somebody, ANYBODY, 'splain to me how adding a tax could IN ANY SCENARIO, "soothe" rising energy prices.
You know I almost wish they would tax big oil. maybe when that cost is passed on to us and gas goes up another 10 or 20% people will open their dang eyes.
No liberal political agenda is ever complete without some class warefare and redistribution policy at its core.
Or send them to a history class on Jimmy Carter’s term.
Gas lines, anyone?
It is inconceivable to me that countries like Germany, France and England are lowering taxes (after years of slow growth and high unemployment) while our genius democrats continually want to raise them (after 8 years of low unemployment a 40+ quarters of 4 percent GDP growth or better)...
McCain has to win.
It might be unprofitable for these companies to produce oil some day. What happens when these companies go into another line of business instead?
Ask any liberal, “How will taking money away from oil companies and giving it to the government make my gas cheaper at the pump?”.............
Yeah, they kinda see it as their new "Tobacco" industry.
It's not kosher but think of all of the social and planet saving programs they could start with the money.
Or require them to read "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell.
Oh, the government will get into the oil business. They always do a better job than private industry, don't they?
If he really believes this I've got a bridge to sell him.
Is there a chart showing how much oil companies made say from 1990 to present?
You know, maybe we should let the idiots in Congress, and all lefties and unprincipled moderates and independents have their way on this. When gas hits $6 a gallon, I will at least have a happy shining moment of ‘I told you so.’
Does anyone know what oil companies “do” with their profits? Do they take their wives for a night on the town? Do oil companies build pleasure palaces of gold plate?
Or do they not fund projects that put millions of people to work, drilling, building, doing just that much more of what oil companies do?
“Profit” left in private hands gets re-invested in productive enterprises. “Profit” taxes away by government gets you more government. You can spend your energy dollars on energy projects run by people who know the energy business, or you can spend your energy dollars on pet projects run by lawyers, professors, and politicians.
This is laughable. What is “Big Government” doing with the huge tax windfall they already recive from the oil companies? If you look at Exxon Mobil’s earnings report, while their net income was about $11 billion in the first quarter, they paid nearly $30 billion in total taxes!
Would someone please define what a ‘Windfall Profit’ is.
And don’t think it stops with oil...the housing industry, multifamily apartments, slippery slope it is...
It is a very bad day for american business, and if either tweedle dee or tweedle dum get in the white house, it will be worse.
of course they always ‘forget’ to mention the $3 billion a month or so the governmnet takes in a month in oil taxes
so who is really making the “windfall profits’
reminds me of cigarette taxes
the government now makes more from cigarettes than the cigarette companies do
taking millions a dollars a year from cigarette sales all while slamming the cigarette companies for how evil they are for selling a product that kills people
Big oil is making nothing compared to Big Farming...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.