Obama says he would impose oil windfall profits tax »
Posted By DiffeeOnline 4 months ago in NewsDemocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he would impose a windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies as he sought political gain from Americans' pain over high gasoline prices.
Read Full Story at reuters.com »
Submitted By:
DiffeeOnline
Social media, politics, technology, news, marketing, and the environment. These are my passions. These are the things that I spend more time with than anything ...
Also submitted:
Related Articles:
Why not submit a story?
Join the Discussion 
+ Add Comment
Comments So Far: 25
-
0%
Wolfie20074 months ago
Just who is he going to impose his dumb tax on? The oil companies who don't set the price of oil or the oil speculators in the commodity's market who are buying oil contacts from the oil producers and then holding the contracts for a higher price. Has Obama even figured out how the oil market works? I really doubt it.
Reply-
0%
mesodude4 months ago
"Just who is he going to impose his dumb tax on? The oil companies who don't set the price of oil or the oil speculators in the commodity's market who are buying oil contacts from the oil producers and then holding the contracts for a higher price."
--I guess it makes more sense to continue giving the oil companies billions in subsidies--since they're obviously hard up for cash. ;-(
Reply-
0%
JoseMadre4 months ago
$7B in profit on $114 in sales isn't exactly a huge profit margin. The legal service I own made 22% profit last year, about 3 times Shell's profit margin. And, as others have pointed out, the tax will be tacked onto gas prices, just like it was under Jimmy Carter. Oh, and the last time this was tried, Big Oil discovered that it was more profitable to import oil raher than increaseproduction here.
Reply
-
-
-
-
0%
Xaos4 months ago
I seldom agree with you Wolfie, however this one we are one the same page on, the Windfall profit tax is a bad idea, it didn't work in the 1970's when they tried it and I doubt if it will work now. And there has been rumblings from big oil that if this would happen then you could see a return to lines at the gas pump. Things need done but this is not one of them.
Reply-
0%
nostalgia4 months ago
In 1980, President Carter signed into law the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act, which established excise taxes as high as 70% on the difference between the market-determined price of oil and a (lower) price set by law. The tax was dropped in 1987, but according to the Congressional Research Service, almost $80 billion was drained from the industry's income statements while it was in effect.
Money that could have been invested in new oil and gas production and to expand refining capacity was diverted to Washington. It should come as no surprise that oil production fell. In fact, 1.6 billion fewer barrels of crude oil were produced in the United States from 1980 to 1987 than would have been produced otherwise. American dependence on foreign oil rose apace.
Reply-
0%
nostalgia4 months ago
However tempting it may be for populist politicians to meddle in energy markets, almost anything Congress does will only make a bad situation worse. Oil and gas production is a risky business, as Katrina and Rita demonstrated so vividly.
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp...
Politicians NEVER learn
They keep repeating the same mistakes over and over then blame someone else when their own stupidity causes even worse problems
Reply
-
-
-
-
0%
DiffeeOnline4 months ago
Regardless of whether you agree with the idea or not, you have to admit that it hits home now and is a very smart political move. Considering where voter sentiment is now, as impractical you might feel the concept is, your standard, every day middle class voter will look at the headline, maybe read the story, and say "Now there's someone who knows what we want."
Reply-
-
0%
RedRiverJ4 months ago
That's all it is is a smart political move. Oldest political trick in the book.....they all USE IT. Tell em what they want to hear when times are tough, they fall for it every time. He CAN'T do all that he has promised, NO ONE CAN and NO one will, they are all in it for money and power. He is no different than any of the others.
Reply -
0%
libsRfunny4 months ago
"your standard, every day middle class voter will look at the headline, maybe read the story, and say 'Now there's someone who knows what we want.'"
And that worker would be a complete moron and all the more reason to keep Obama out of office if he doesn't have the brains or leadership ability to realize it would be counter-productive and detrimental the that same worker at the pump.
If you don't think increasing taxes will increase fuel prices for cars and home heating, you need to take some basic economics courses.
Reply
-
-
0%
JoseMadre4 months ago
"911 An Inside Job"
Oh, you're one of THOSE people that Bill Clinton was so ticked off about that he came to Bush's defense to denounce you.
Reply -
0%
Xaos4 months ago
I agree, definetly a home run with the majority of voters, these prices are hitting most of us where it hurts and a lot of people want to see big oil pay. The shame of it is that there are better ways of doing this.
Reply -
0%
aniokly4 months ago
The price of gas is now $4. Prices have risen 75% since Damascus Rose Pelosi promised Americans Energy Independence 2 years ago. Thank God, S D voted to build a new Refinery. Other states will follow, and we will elect Congressional people who will permit Domestic drilling, hopefully before the price of a gallon of gas hits $7.00. Democrats will bankrupt us before this is over.
Reply -
0%
JoseMadre4 months ago
Since oil companies average 7% to 9% profit, much less than the 22% profit that my business made last year, I suspect that Obama is laying the groundwork for a National policy of 5% or less profit on business. This guy is a Socialist who thinks the failed policies of Jimmy Carter should be tried again.
Reply -
0%
JoseMadre4 months ago
And of course, raising taxes on oil is going to raise gasoline prices, not lower them.
Reply -
0%
Albmore4 months ago
The fact is anickly the republicans have ruined the dollar with their spending. All Americans for the last 30 years are also guilty for the high oil cost. We have known this problem since the 70|s and almost nothing has been done. Fighting over who is responsible now will get us no where. We need alternative energy. Neither the dems or the rep. have led the way so far. Nor have the American people demanded that they took measures. We were all enjoying the moment, but the time to pay for that moment is at hand and our pockets are close to empty. America needs to unite and rise to the occasion of solving our problems. This two party fighting is solving nothing!!!! It only adds to the divide that will destroy us.
Reply -
0%
nostalgia4 months ago
Charles Krauthammer had an interesting column on $4 gas
At $4, Everybody Gets Rational
At $3 a gallon, Americans just grin and bear it, suck it up and, while complaining profusely, keep driving like crazy. At $4, it is a world transformed. Americans become rational creatures. Mass transit ridership is at a 50-year high. Driving is down 4 percent. (Any U.S. decline is something close to a miracle.) Hybrids and compacts are flying off the lots. SUV sales are in free fall.
The wholesale flight from gas guzzlers is stunning in its swiftness, but utterly predictable. Everything has a price point. Remember that "love affair" with SUVs? Love, it seems, has its price too.
America's sudden change in car-buying habits makes suitable mockery of that absurd debate Congress put on last December on fuel efficiency standards. At stake was precisely what miles-per-gallon average would every car company's fleet have to meet by precisely what date.
Reply-
0%
nostalgia4 months ago
You want more fuel-efficient cars? Don't regulate. Don't mandate. Don't scold. Don't appeal to the better angels of our nature. Do one thing: Hike the cost of gas until you find the price point.
Unfortunately, instead of hiking the price ourselves by means of a gasoline tax that could be instantly refunded to the American people in the form of lower payroll taxes, we let the Saudis, Venezuelans, Russians and Iranians do the taxing for us -- and pocket the money that the tax would have recycled back to the American worker.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...
Reply
-
-
0%
aniokly4 months ago
So after the Genius, Obama imposes this new tax, does he have any idea who will pay it? Why we will boys, and girls. The Oil Company is not going to take that hit laying down.
Reply -
0%
Wolfie20074 months ago
ani
Corporations alway pass taxes along to the consumer. It's called the cost of doing business.
Reply -
0%
Albmore4 months ago
Obama seems to be the only one who is pressing for alternative energy. McCain will have to hop in the boat with the Bush sponsors to finance his run for office. Regulation I do not believe is good because we need less gov. and not more laws. It is up to the cosumer to stop buying the gas guzzling autos until they are rebuilt with the fuel efficient tech. that they already have but do not produce.
When will America see that neither Obama nor McCain or any form of gov. that is going to lead us out of are problem. It is in our hands to make the change!!!!!
Reply
Add a Comment
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.