Uncle Sam Full of Gas on Windfall Profits
So, ``Big Oil`` is gouging the public? Congress can indeed do something about skyrocketing gas prices!
(Thanks to The Federalist)
"So, Exxon Mobil broke corporate records last week, posting a $9 billion profit on $100 billion in revenue in the third quarter. Right on cue, Democrats demanded that Washington confiscate some of those profits. Are they predictable or what?... Want to know who is making a bigger windfall than oil companies are making from the prices paid by the poor gasoline consumer? It's good old Uncle Sam and his 51 little brothers. Refining costs and profits combined make up about 15 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Department. State and local taxes make up almost double that, about 27 percent. State and local gas tax collections exceed oil industry profits by a large margin, according to a Tax Foundation study released last week. Since 1977, consumers have paid $1.34 trillion in gas taxes more than twice the profits of all major U.S. oil companies combined during that same period. Last year, state and federal gas taxes took in $58.4 billion. Major U.S. oil company profits last year totaled $42.6 billion." New Hampshire Union Leader
It is withing the purview of conservative philosophy to demand action by the Government on oil prices; we should demand tax reduction, easing of regulations, etc. These prices are artificially high, thanks to our ne`er-do-well Uncle Sam and his kids. If market forces functioned unfettered in the oil industry, we would see sanity return to the pricing of oil-based products.
When is our Conservative President, and his conservative allies in Congress, going to lead on this?
(Thanks to The Federalist)
"So, Exxon Mobil broke corporate records last week, posting a $9 billion profit on $100 billion in revenue in the third quarter. Right on cue, Democrats demanded that Washington confiscate some of those profits. Are they predictable or what?... Want to know who is making a bigger windfall than oil companies are making from the prices paid by the poor gasoline consumer? It's good old Uncle Sam and his 51 little brothers. Refining costs and profits combined make up about 15 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Department. State and local taxes make up almost double that, about 27 percent. State and local gas tax collections exceed oil industry profits by a large margin, according to a Tax Foundation study released last week. Since 1977, consumers have paid $1.34 trillion in gas taxes more than twice the profits of all major U.S. oil companies combined during that same period. Last year, state and federal gas taxes took in $58.4 billion. Major U.S. oil company profits last year totaled $42.6 billion." New Hampshire Union Leader
It is withing the purview of conservative philosophy to demand action by the Government on oil prices; we should demand tax reduction, easing of regulations, etc. These prices are artificially high, thanks to our ne`er-do-well Uncle Sam and his kids. If market forces functioned unfettered in the oil industry, we would see sanity return to the pricing of oil-based products.
When is our Conservative President, and his conservative allies in Congress, going to lead on this?
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:06 AM
2 Comments:
How many dollars is Exxon/Mobil funneling into the Saudis' pockets?
That $9 billion figure boggles the mind!
It is so tempting to bash big oil, but there's no way you can repeal the law of supply and demand. If we were going to start punishing windfall profits we should punish homeowners who realize a huge increase on the value of their home, etc.
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