Time To Bail Out Oil Companies?
Jan 30, 2009 Political
When oil companies were making record profits Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton said they were going to take those profits and spend them on the people. They would impose huge windfall profit taxes on the “excessive” profits because it just isn’t right, in their minds, for private businesses to make too much.
The oil companies, they claimed, were manipulating the markets and causing fuel prices to rise. No, drilling was not the answer though Obama bought into that for political gain. It was not a matter of our oil going unused, it was the evil oil companies manipulating markets. If they could do that then why are they not manipulating them now and causing the price of a barrel of oil to go up?
Looks like we will now have to send the oil companies some of the bailout money. Royal Dutch Shell posted its first loss in 10 years. The loss was 2.81 billion dollars.
If Obama wanted to take their money when they earned it then it only stands to reason he has to give them money when they don’t.
I am willing to bet that does not happen.
This just shows how little Obama and his Democrats understand the free market.
He said he wanted to redistribute the wealth but I bet that was only when he was taking it from evil oil companies. I bet he will not redistribute it the other way…
I don’t believe the oil companies should get money if they are not doing well but I also do not believe the government should take their money when they are profitable.
In other news about fossil fuels, thousands of gas stations in California will close by 1 April rather than spend the huge sums of money it would cost to get them up to speed with some strict new environmental standards being imposed by the state.
Looks like the already cash strapped state will be earning fewer business tax dollars.
UPDATE: Looks like Exxon will break its record for profit. I guess it will have to give money to Shell under the redistribute the wealth plan.
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Tags: loss. shell, Obama, oil, taxes, windfall