I've been hearing President Bush bash the Oil companies for uh.. "making money" the old fashioned way, by earning it. Our Senators and Congressmen are calling for an investigation into the oil companies, if this is not the most obvious case of the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is.
If you look at the real picture, NOT the final dollar amount. You will see the drug companies, banks, and even the dollar store! make more (or the same) profit per dollar than oil companies.
Yes, I said it. The oil companies from the pure numbers I've been reading and hearing are NOT raping us, however the great George Bush and the never at fault government ARE taking us to the Bank, back home, then back to the bank again, and again.
Talk about price gouging? Try this on for size more than half the price of your gas is taxes. WHERE is all this money going?? I'm not seeing anything are you?
If the blowhards in Washington really gave a *** they would cut taxes on fuel and give us an immediate and real solution.
Passing the blame somewhere else may be what they are good at, however it's not a solution and in the end only pisses us off.
For the amount of tax each state slaps on us check out Gasoline tax information
The Federal Gas Tax is 18.4 cpg.
Note: For the record, we should ditch gas powered cars and move on to waters powered, however that's a whole different post. -Ed
Posted by Muddy at April 26, 2006 08:52 AMAVerages taxes per sstate of $0.50 per gallon... not eexactly half but still absurd.
What is also absurd, is this nootion of a "windfall profits" tax. How idiotic. First off, profits don't just get pocketed by the oil company or its executives. They get re-invested. They go to employee raises. They go to new jobs. They go to shareholder dividends. The last one will make a lot of leftists go, ooh, so just mor emoney for rich stock market players eh? Well, i would guarantee, the majority of oil company share holders make less than 6 figures. In fact a friend of mine has stock in an oil company (among other things) and she is a college student, soon to be a school teacher, making less than 15k a year. And she doesn't exactly come from wealth either.
So what will happen if we taxes their "windfall profits"? Well first off, you'd be taxes their profits twice, since they already pay income taxes. Second, they'll simply raise prices to cover the tax costs. So we'd pay even MORE at the pump. Politicians know this, they just see a way to rape us some more.
See, corporations do not pay taxes. Never. It is impossible. They simply pass their tax bill onto consumers as a tax hike. Anywhere from 20-30% of the cost everything we buy in the US, is to cover corporate tax bills.
The next problem is, how the hell do you define a windfall profit?
I mean really, do we tax ALL of their profits? Just the part that came because of higher oil prices? Really, how do you do it? This also screws up the whole calculation of P&L statements!
The final problem is this: The best oil company's profit margin is less than 10%. 10% is a nice profit margin, but it is by no means outstanding, especially next to the banking industry's profit margins of near 30%!
Posted by: skywalker at April 26, 2006 09:52 AMWhat is idiotic, is anyone who thinks Bush gives a damn about oil prices, what consumers are paying or would even entertain the thought of a "windfall profits" tax.
Bushs approval ratings are in the toilet. Its down to only 30% of idiots who think hes doing a "good job."
He is just saying the right things to give the illusion that he gives a damn, when in reality hes high fiving all his friends in the oil industry.
Posted by: mooseboy84 at April 27, 2006 09:18 PMNot that I think he's doing a good job, but please explain to me how he's caused the price of oil to go up?
Posted by: skywalker at April 27, 2006 10:19 PMDid I say he caused the price of oil to go up? He has caused it, by invading iraq and taking their oil supplies offline. They arnt producing half of what they used to.
That, with specualtors worrying if Iran may limit production or blockade the straight of hormuz, along with alienating Hugo Chavez in venezuela, has all combined to practically doubling the price of a barrel of oil since he got in office.
Thats how he has caused prices to go up, and im sure he and his texas buddies are toasting martinis over it.
Posted by: mooseboy84 at April 27, 2006 10:37 PMYou certainly implied it.
You realize that the oil companies have the same profit margin or less that they did 8 years ago?
The larger problem is that the demand has gone up by incredible amounts in Asia over the past few years. We should also remember that oil prices were ont he way up while Clinton was on the way out.
The real answer to all of this: energy independence.
Posted by: skywalker at April 28, 2006 10:18 PM