Senate Democrats seek to tax oil companies

[Don Joe]

Cannon Fodder wrote:

The oil companies are NOT our enemy. This oil price explosion has to do with new demand from China and India, we have no control over that. Where we are to blame is America has an excess of environmental, tree huggers that stop new domestic drilling. We can't drill in Anwar Alaska because of Caribou mating habits. We can't do new drilling off the coast of California or Florida because they may spill some. Geez, let's tell our congressmen to ignore the environmental idiots, we need the oil.

Yea, let's pretend there is no collusion going on. There is no price fixing among the oil companies. Even though they make additional billions and billions, they never got together to agree on raising the price so they could get extra profit. It's great that they have the excuse that all of a sudden someone else wants some oil and there is no way to pump that much. New wells can't be drilled even in Saudi Arabia. It's so much easier to simply raise prices rather than compete.

[Delphinus 13]

Another stupid, anti-capitalist idea from the Democrats. Imagine that.

Did I mention counter-productive to solving the problem at hand?

[wyojake]

None in 08 wrote:

<quoted text>
You have no conception of economics do you? Besides oil companies can choose NOT to do business here. There are many other people in the world who can buy their products.

Clue - was making a facicious point. The problems we are having with oil prices right now are speculators and marketers. Some of them are indeed oil companies, some are independent greed machines. And I guess we were always told that massive - worldwide corporations were the answer to all our problems - they would instil competition and drive the price down. Independents would spring up and foster small business. De-regulation does not work. Crude on the comodities market - does not work for the American people - it surely works for a couple major investors and producers - but not for the country. May want to check on who buys what - refined and otherwise.

[John the Baptist]

None in 08 wrote:

A windfall tax will have only the opposite intended effect:
Oil companies will have less and be less likely to invest in growth (exploration, technology, etc).
This will keep supply restricted.
Demand? Ain't going down (Do YOU want to tell China and India they can't have any?)
So....same supply, increasing demand.....HIGHER prices.
It's simple economics. Don't be a sheep.
We can also look at history to tell us what can happen with windfall profits tax.
Carter administration. Oil. Windfall tax. Ring a bell?

You misunderstand a windfall profits tax.
However, it must be combined with a petroleum export ban.

WE ned more tax regulation on these oil companies.

We need an energy Czar, with power to take over oil fields which are taken out of production to manipulate profit.

We need another Truman, not another Hoover.

[John the Baptist]

wyojake wrote:

<quoted text>
Clue - was making a facicious point. The problems we are having with oil prices right now are speculators and marketers. Some of them are indeed oil companies, some are independent greed machines. And I guess we were always told that massive - worldwide corporations were the answer to all our problems - they would instil competition and drive the price down. Independents would spring up and foster small business. De-regulation does not work. Crude on the comodities market - does not work for the American people - it surely works for a couple major investors and producers - but not for the country. May want to check on who buys what - refined and otherwise.

This is the other side of the coin. We need a 100% profit tax on 'oil futures.'

Oil futures is no gamble... think of it.

Oil futures are simply a means to manipulate prices upwards.

and you are correct about ther commodities market.

The Bush administration is happy duplicating the "success" of Enron with oil commodities.

Sum total: RIPOFF of the USA.

[larry g]

None in 08 wrote:

A windfall tax will have only the opposite intended effect:
Oil companies will have less and be less likely to invest in growth (exploration, technology, etc).
This will keep supply restricted.
Demand? Ain't going down (Do YOU want to tell China and India they can't have any?)
So....same supply, increasing demand.....HIGHER prices.
It's simple economics. Don't be a sheep.
We can also look at history to tell us what can happen with windfall profits tax.
Carter administration. Oil. Windfall tax. Ring a bell?

you must have been in the secret energy meeting with Cheney

[Cato]

The Democrats want consumers to pay [more] for a gallon of gas. Rather than levy additional taxes at the pump directly, they will instead tax the oil companies, who will then pass the expense on to the consumer.
Yeah! Yeah! Stick it to the Big Oil Companies!

[wyojake]

Cato wrote:

The Democrats want consumers to pay [more] for a gallon of gas. Rather than levy additional taxes at the pump directly, they will instead tax the oil companies, who will then pass the expense on to the consumer.
Yeah! Yeah! Stick it to the Big Oil Companies!

no clue yet eh? the federal gas tax hasn't risen since 1993. Just the prices. How many times has your state gas tax risen? What have the profits of the oil companies done? No clue on that either eh?

[larry g]

Cato wrote:

The Democrats want consumers to pay [more] for a gallon of gas. Rather than levy additional taxes at the pump directly, they will instead tax the oil companies, who will then pass the expense on to the consumer.
Yeah! Yeah! Stick it to the Big Oil Companies!

not tax them more , take back the subsidy we give
them . Why subsidize gas at $123 a barrel ?
To make Oilmen like Cheney rich

[Mr_Bill]

Cato wrote:

The Democrats want consumers to pay [more] for a gallon of gas. Rather than levy additional taxes at the pump directly, they will instead tax the oil companies, who will then pass the expense on to the consumer.
Yeah! Yeah! Stick it to the Big Oil Companies!

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Please try to know at least a little, before you shoot off your stupid mouth.
You are no Cato, you are Bucco.
There is only one result of an excess profits tax; lower prices.

Look and learn, stupid:
http://www.google.com/search...

[just had lunch]

Keith from Battle Creek wrote:

Why can't we drill in our own land ... have some refineries ...etc ... I am tired of paying high prices ...
Can't we screw over the middle east ... or whoever is the blame of high gas prices ?
Just plain tired of all the shi*.

not as long as there are democrats...THEY blocked domestic drilling, THEY blocked building new refineries, THEY blocked expanding nuclear energy.

and, gee...they STILL don't have a frigging plan!

IF that incompetent from illinois gets elected, look for gas to hit $7.00 a gallon!

[just had lunch]

Mr_Bill wrote:

<quoted text>
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Please try to know at least a little, before you shoot off your stupid mouth.
You are no Cato, you are Bucco.
There is only one result of an excess profits tax; lower prices.
Look and learn, stupid:
http://www.google.com/search...

wow ... talk about clueless!

[wyojake]

just had lunch wrote:

<quoted text>
not as long as there are democrats...THEY blocked domestic drilling, THEY blocked building new refineries, THEY blocked expanding nuclear energy.
and, gee...they STILL don't have a frigging plan!
IF that incompetent from illinois gets elected, look for gas to hit $7.00 a gallon!

so what have you republicans done since Reagan besides sit on your fat asses and spend us into bankruptcy. Waiting to hear your answer.

[Cato]

Mr_Bill wrote:

<quoted text>
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Please try to know at least a little, before you shoot off your stupid mouth.
You are no Cato, you are Bucco.
There is only one result of an excess profits tax; lower prices.
Look and learn, stupid:
http://www.google.com/search...

Levying a tax or revoking subsidies for oil companies is just boobie bait for Democrat bubbas.
They want us to use less gas.
They think that the most effective way to achieve that goal in the short term is for us to pay [more] for our gallon of gas.
If you think the Federal government is entitled to more tax revenue that that's one thing, but don't think that any of this will lower the price you pay at the pump.

[Keith from Battle Creek]

just had lunch wrote:

<quoted text>
not as long as there are democrats...THEY blocked domestic drilling, THEY blocked building new refineries, THEY blocked expanding nuclear energy.
and, gee...they STILL don't have a frigging plan!
IF that incompetent from illinois gets elected, look for gas to hit $7.00 a gallon!

Yor're right on the idiot ... I could see gas even higher than $7.00

[Mr_Bill]

Cato wrote:

<quoted text>
Levying a tax or revoking subsidies for oil companies is just boobie bait for Democrat bubbas.
They want us to use less gas.
They think that the most effective way to achieve that goal in the short term is for us to pay [more] for our gallon of gas.
If you think the Federal government is entitled to more tax revenue that that's one thing, but don't think that any of this will lower the price you pay at the pump.

Excess profits tax is not new. It has been used in the past, and is tried and true.
This is nor neo-conservative economics, it is reality.
gas price will have no where to go but down.
Why charge more if the government gets all profit above a set amount?

[Mr_Bill]

just had lunch wrote:

<quoted text>
not as long as there are democrats...THEY blocked domestic drilling, THEY blocked building new refineries, THEY blocked expanding nuclear energy.
and, gee...they STILL don't have a frigging plan!
IF that incompetent from illinois gets elected, look for gas to hit $7.00 a gallon!

our gasoline prices are high now because Saudi Arabia is restricting supplies, and North American producers are charging the 'world market price.' It does not further your argument to lie.

Look up OPEC.

[larry g]

just had lunch wrote:

<quoted text>
not as long as there are democrats...THEY blocked domestic drilling, THEY blocked building new refineries, THEY blocked expanding nuclear energy.
and, gee...they STILL don't have a frigging plan!
IF that incompetent from illinois gets elected, look for gas to hit $7.00 a gallon!

the Oil companies have leases now for 42 million acres but only drill on 12 million , they have 3000 leases that they haven't acted on yet , they are just sitting on them while they ask for more.
People like you believe that if we just drill some more , that's part of the lie

[wyojake]

larry g wrote:

<quoted text>
the Oil companies have leases now for 42 million acres but only drill on 12 million , they have 3000 leases that they haven't acted on yet , they are just sitting on them while they ask for more.
People like you believe that if we just drill some more , that's part of the lie

exactly - maybe it's time they used those profits to develop the leases or let them go for someone else to develop. Moratoriam on additional leasing until a certain percentage have been developed - kinda limits tying up supply.

[Eron]

Here's an interesting little tidbit.

Harvard has an endowment of 34.9 BILLION Dollars. they make 23%/year from the investments made by the endowment. Conservatively they make 8 BILION Dollars a year in intrest.

Harvard could afford to send (conservatively) 120,000 students through their university for free every year just with the interest made by the endowment.

The State of Massachusetts wants to tax any college endowments of 1 BILLION or more that are in their state. These taxes will go to help underfunded highschool students go to college.

A Vice President from Harvard released a statement and here is the pertinent part"...why would you want to tax success. You would make this college un competitve..."

Exactly....