Posted on 01/23/2012 4:27:36 AM PST by IbJensen
Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D’OH), have filed a bill aimed at controlling gasoline prices. Styled the “Gas Price Spike Act”, H.R. 3784 would establish a “Reasonable Profits Board” which would have the power to confiscate 100% of oil company profits above a level that they deem to be “reasonable”.
I know: “You had me at ‘Kucinich’.”
Kucinich is either a naive buffoon, a craven panderer to his electorate, or a throwback to Soviet-style central planning. (Not that those descriptions are mutually exclusive.) That he could find five other elected nitwits (Reps. Woolsey[1], Langevin, Conyers, Fudge and Filner[2]) to put their names on such an unconstitutional socialist fantasy is an indication that the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party has “progressed” beyond capitalism.
According to a Thursday post at TheHill.com:
The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and [natural] gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding “a reasonable profit.” It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. Unlike other bills setting up advisory boards, the Reasonable Profits Board would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.
The bill would also seem to exclude industry representatives from the board, as it says members “shall have no financial interests in any of the businesses for which reasonable profits are determined by the Board.”
Oil companies would only be able to make less than a reasonable profit without penalty. Anything over 105% of reasonable would be taxed at 100%. Proceeds of the confiscation would be dedicated to tax credits for high-milage vehicle purchase and mass transit subsidies for the poor.
Peeling back the layers of stupidity in H.R. 3784 would be akin to peeling an artichoke. In the interest of time, I will cut to my central point.
Implicit in the very suggestion that a Windfall Profit Tax is called for is the notion that somehow the oil companies are able to manipulate the price of oil, and hence, gasoline.
Gasoline prices are at historically high prices. Despite the spike above $4.00 per gallon in 2008, you actually paid 10% more at the pump in 2011.
When we refer to the industry as “oil and gas”, we mean “oil and natural gas”, not oil and gasoline. All oil companies make a substantial fraction of their revenue — many more than half — from natural gas.
The price of natural gas has plunged to 10 year lows recently as a result of warm winter temperatures, slack industrial demand and burgeoning supplies.
Natural gas prices have fallen to levels that make it difficult to justify drilling for more. Many of the new supplies of gas that come on will be incidental to the successful search for oil.
I challenge anyone who believes that oil companies control the price of oil and gasoline to explain how they do it, and why they seemingly have no control of natural gas.
[1] Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the House Progressive Caucus from Marin Co., CA.
[2] Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA). From his Wikipedia entry:
Filner has been a vocal supporter of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Filner has long argued that the group’s designation should be removed, and considers the MEK an ally against the Iranian regime. He has accepted free trips, and paid speaking engagements from the group for which he has been criticized by the National Iranian American Council.
The other co-sponsors are John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI).
The average return to the oil companies from the sale of $1.00 worth of gasoline is a nickel!
The evil profiteering is the issuance of government checks to these six, as well as the rest of Congress, on a monthly and lifelong basis!
‘bout time We the People confiscate a few commies....
Right out of Atlas Shrugged.
would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.
Can't trust actual voters, y'know.
They get this through and we’ll see $10.00 gasoline within a year.
Dennis “the Menace” Kookcinich is an embarrassment to the State of Ohio, despite being re-elected by the idjits up there around the Mistake by the Lake.
His mental prowess is on par with his physical presence.
Will they confiscate excessive Apple, Google, Facebook and Berkshire Hathaway profits as well? Those share prices are five times the value of the average oil company stock price.
You encourage the setting up of more oil companies. This introduces something called "customer choice", which drives down the price and increases the efficiency of all the oil companies by something called "comp-et-ish-on" (You have to use phonetics with liberals or they get lost).
We are making a big mistake by even tolerating people who advocate this type of activity.
These Congressmen should be kicked out for proposing such an idea.
How about a reasonable salaries and benefits board for legislators?
Until they cap their own income at $75K/year and reduce their assets to under $500K, they have no standing.
Don't sell your ExxonMobil stock quite yet! This bill is going straight into The Abyss and will never see the light of day again!
first off, if we actually had a real Speaker of the House, instead of this mealy mouthed little wussy Boehner, these 6 would be immediately stripped of all Committee Assignments, offices locked, and be facing immediate and permanent removal from the House of Representatives.
How about the millions in excess income derived from the sale of books such as “Dreams from my Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”? After all, how hard can it be to sit at a desk writing down one’s thoughts? Then there are those obscene profits actors and actresses make. Why should someone make millions for a few days standing in front of a camera when there are many green energy companies needing subsidized capital? Not to mention the obscene profits some make giving speeches. $100,000 for a half hour speech by Bill Clinton or Colin Powell? Let’s take 90% away from them to be fair. After all $10,000 is more than enough when there are poor people who need new cell phones, flat screen TV’s, free healthcare, and government funded abortions.
That would be naive buffoon.
Plus IIRC, even when the RATS had both the House and Senate after Barry got 's'elected, Turban Durbin wrote a Senate Bill like this. And even his, as the Rat Senate Whip went nowhere. DICK then made the mistake of appearing on Neil Cavato's program trying to defend it. Neil made DICK look like he swallowed a six day old chili dog when Neil hit him with the facts on the 'evil' oil company's actual 'profit' on a gallon of gas compared to the Federal Tax on one.
But back to the Kookster, I swear he keeps getting elected just for the laugh factor.
“Will they confiscate excessive Apple, Google, Facebook and Berkshire Hathaway profits as well? Those share prices are five times the value of the average oil company stock price.”
No, they want to unite the environmentalists and the socialists while still keeping the tech lefties (who are fiercely secular and don’t have a problem with capitalism) on board.
idiots no doubt, but they are just playing to their leftwing nutjub consitutents. they know this doesnt have a chance of seeing the light of day.
stuipidity of the left, that think laws will control prices. why not put in a law to repeal gravity, or the tides, it will work just as well.
Considering the rampant insider trading by those on Capitol Hill, how about an excessive profits tax on Congress members?
He's an embarassment to the human race!
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.