Replies

>Of course, the cynic in me thinks that the transfer of tax funds to the coffers of the oil companies is, indeed, the 'desired effect'. Scary thought... the governor redirects tax dollars to the oil companies while scoring politically by looking like he's actually 'doing something' for the people.<

Explain how the taxes are redirected to the oil companies since they are collected by retailers and wholesalers not oil companies.These are the people getting killed by these price increases.They are making the same or in some cases less penney profit(not margin)they were making at $1 per gallon.

My company bosses passed out $50 envelopes today to every single employee to help out with gas. That's real class and private business doing their part for their people. They won a lot of loyalty points with that move. Oh, and they closed the offices 2 hours early today!

Explain how the taxes are redirected to the oil companies since they are collected by retailers and wholesalers not oil companies.These are the people getting killed by these price increases.They are making the same or in some cases less penney profit(not margin)they were making at $1 per gallon.

My bad. I was using 'oil companies' as shorthand for the companies all the way down the line (retailers, wholesalers, etc.). Of course some companies own the whole supply chain, from the drilling to the pump. I realize that while the prices for crude oil has gone up, it has not gone up as dramatically as the retail price of gasoline. But when a barrel of oil costs $4 to get out of the ground, selling it for $70 is a pretty hefty profit.

I don't, of course, begrudge the oil companies for making money. That's what they're there to do. In my own case, Exxon, Haliburton and the like have bolstered by stock portfolio in an otherwise weak year. More power to them. The tax cut seems a bit dodgy, though.