Obama Oil Policy
Posted on 03/01/2012 3:39:35 PM PST by ColdOne
Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), want to set up a "Reasonable Profits Board" to control gas profits.
The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a "windfall profit tax" as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit.
The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and 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."
According to the bill, a windfall tax of 50 percent would be applied when the sale of oil or gas leads to a profit of between 100 percent and 102 percent of a reasonable profit. The windfall tax would jump to 75 percent when the profit is between 102 and 105 percent of a reasonable profit, and above that, the windfall tax would be 100 percent. The bill also
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Exactly where in the Constitution of the United States does any of the 4 branches of government deem this right to be granted? I certainly haven't been able to find where the house or senate, judicial, executive, or propaganda branches of the government are granted those powers.
And while Washington, DC is quickly becoming a "Constitution Free Zone," maybe the oil companies should demand "equal protection under the law," and have their lobbyists write legislation or executive orders on "reasonable profits" for say, the computer software industry, the entertainment industry, sports franchises, etc.
One thing is for sure... Place a 100% "windfall profit tax" on any product, and you will see a ceiling placed on the production of that product, since there's no reason to work for 0% profit, while still incurring operating costs. A sure way to boost prices, but then again, as the Energy Enemy Chu said, they don't want to bring down the cost of energy. They want to boost it to a point where their economically unfeasible "alternatives" become competitive. So expect $15 a gallon gasoline, if they get their way... And expect everything else to skyrocket too. How about $12 a dozen eggs, $16 loaf of bread, etc... They will hit or exceed those prices when diesel fuel hits $20 a gallon.
Mark
I believe you have those reversed. The per-gallon profit on a gallon of gas is already lower than the taxes on it.
Obama Oil Policy
Every generation, once the majority of voters have forgotten how badly these things always end.
Mark
Time to re-read this article: From the Wall Street Journal ‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123146363567166677.html
And I don't mean net income ...
So, the profit made by the oil companies should be allowed to increase to the level of the taxes paid. Or perhaps the taxes should be cut to the level of the oil company profits.
Atlas Shrugged was the first thought that pinged my head when I saw the headline.
Would you please add me to your Atlas list?
Added!
There's a lot about this administration that Ole Wes would be proud of.
She's taken way too many left turns.
Ping ... for your consideration!
ML/NJ
‘Reasonable Taxing and Spending Board’ needed.
Yeah, good `ol Dennis... not the brightest one in the swamp.
Coulda been a real player with a truckload of "I-told-you-so" on that bammycare vote but nope.
Even as he lambasted the Senate health care bill, Rep. Dennis Kucinich today said he would vote “Yes” for the legislation in the House, becoming the first Democratic congressman who originally voted “No” to change course.
“I have doubts about the bill. I do not think it’s a step toward anything I’ve supported in the past. This is not the bill I wanted to support,” Kucinich, D-Ohio, said at a news conference today. “However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, my wife Elizabeth and close friends, I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation.”
Two or three "I-told-you-so" votes could have been an entire campaign platform.
Could have been...
Then he also lacks a clear understanding of the budget (back when we had one).
Rep. Dennis Kucinich falsely blamed the military for gobbling the largest share of the budget.
Kucinich: And we also know that our tax dollars right now are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup.
"Not really. In 2006 (the last year for which final numbers are available), defense accounted for 23.6 percent of total spending. That is a significant percentage of our spending, but it pales in comparison to the 46.3 percent we are spending on various entitlement programs at the time."
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And expect everything else to skyrocket too. How about $12 a dozen eggs, $16 loaf of bread, etc... They will hit or exceed those prices when diesel fuel hits $20 a gallon.
That’s when they institute price controls. Of course, then there are shortages. So, they accuse people of hoarding and come and confiscate whatever someone may have. Then the government distributes essentials to their friends and supporters. At some point, they take over production of everything and make sure nothing is produced for very high subsidies. Then they run out of money and eventually they run out of anything to use as an inducement to production, so they plead with the former producers to please come back to work because they will kill them if they don’t.
Can we have an Excess Stupidity Control Board?
I read that the average profit the refiners get is about 7 cents per gallon.
Communism by any other name. Democrats = Communists.
That is precisely what the Democrats hope for, to kill off the petroleum industry in the US.
Actually the are National Socialists. Unfortunately, so is about half the country and they don’t even know it...
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