Posted on 08/22/2005 11:07:12 AM PDT by moose2004
Well, that's one tax. There may be others. Indirect taxes hit everything at every step of the way and because they are more or less hidden it is not easy to list them out. For example, the oil at Prudhoe is produced simultanously with both Federal and State revenue attached as soon as it hits the first pipeline pump station. What is done in this respect in Saudiland or Venezuela or Nigeria I don't know, but no doubt they also attach some kind of charge to the product. Do the giant double-hulled tankers ride for free? Even the King of Brunai who owns everything outright may put a surcharge on exports.
Well, you should know and not speak solely of markets for private goods. Tax revenue affects SUPPLY of public goods such as highways, which are funded from the gasoline-tax dollars.
And yet, this does not stop them from proposing socialist measures resulting in redistribution of wealth.
>>>Do you realize that refineries' profits are actually squeezed by rising CRUDE oil price --- oil that they BUY?
Well if that is the case, we are not likely to see the building of any refineries in the current environment. I guess I had the right conclusion, wrong argument. Thanks for the correction.
In this or any other environment. We haven't built a new refinery in this country since the 1970s. Current refineries are operating at maximum capacity. Few Americans realize that we actually import substantial amounts of refined product (gasoline) because we haven't the capacity to produce enough of our own.
FYI...
http://www.conocophillips.com/newsroom/other_resources/energyanswers/naturalgas.htm
Why aren't there more natural gas pipelines in the Northeast?
Heating oil has been the primary residential fuel in the Northeast for many years, replacing coal in most homes after World War II. Supplying this area of the country with heating oil came logically because numerous ports and rivers can readily handle fuel shipments by tanker and barge. By contrast, large scale use of natural gas for home heating began in the Midwest when pipelines were constructed from fields in Texas and Oklahoma. Eventually, large distribution lines fanned out to western and southern states. The Northeast, however, because of its distance from gas-producing areas and its well-established heating oil market, has lagged behind the rest of the nation in its consumption of natural gas.
Logistical issues also have been a deterrent to residential gas use in the region. Long-distance transmission pipelines and underground municipal distribution systems are expensive to build and can be disruptive during construction in densely populated areas. Despite these obstacles, new pipelines are being built, and demand for natural gas is increasing in the Northeast, particularly for clean-burning electric power generation plants. For example, in 2002 the natural gas industry spent an estimated $4.6 billion to construct 3,700 miles of new pipelines - a 50 percent boost in spending over the previous year.
See post #45
No...we all lived through 8 years of the Sink Emperor with no significant idealogical changes in this country...I thought 9/11 was going to be the "wake up" call...and alas...people quickly forgot. Barring another depression like there was in the '30s or another global war...people will not be waking up anytime soon. 3000 dead wasn't enough...its going to take thousands more dead and/or the economy in the tank before people wake up...I'm convinced of that.
Demand hasn't decreased enough to slow the increase in price. Removing the taxes would likely push demand back up to the current levels (i.e. removing the tax does nothing for supply).
Only in the last week when it cost me $40 to fill the Ody's tank did I go from anger/frustration to taking action to reduce my demand.
AMEN,that's a wonderful idea!
I've voted Republican in every election (federal, state, and local) since 1980, I'm an entrepeuner with my own business, and I don't take people like you seriously.
And yet, this does not stop them from proposing socialist measures resulting in redistribution of wealth.
Hear Hear!
Its really not a difficult concept...the only government intervention we need is the government disinvolving themselves in every aspect of life that they, over time, have taxed, regulated, mandated, assumed power over, or brokered a level of intrusiveness that overstep the powers of the federal government and that scale back and sometimes, outright eliminate the freedoms we should enjoy, as spelled out in our Constitution.
A couple other things about the gas tax (and taxes on truck tires and deisel and other fuels):
- The Fed. Gov takes a 5% cut on it, all for having the states collect the money, send it to Washington, then having their Reps and Senators fight over its dispursement every six years, as the bureaucrats send the money back to the states -- less the Federal commission -- along with all those lovely Federal rules.
- The apportionment by state is not tied to state contributions. CA and NY are some of the biggest losers, I believe. Alaska is a huge winner.
- I'm not sure what the figure is, but a good chunk of the Trust Fund goes to Other Than Highways: be it local pork for Congressmen or mass transit systems (thank car drivers next time you ride the DC Metro...)
Here for a House hearing on repealing the tax in order to reduce the cost of gasoline: THE IMPACT ON TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS OF REDUCING THE FEDERAL FUEL TAX -- from back in 2000, during the Dimocrat constructed gas crisis of that election year.
Thanks for the information.
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