reflexblue

Surprise,surprise,surprise? Republicans refuse to tax BIG OIL.

Ok Neo-Clowns whats your excuse this time?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/...ss_oil_profits

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.


The Democratic energy package would have imposed a tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and given the federal government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill's supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge

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Holy Diver

SHOCKER-zulu!

is there really any debate about where the line in the sand is?

Holy Diver

How many of us in this forum are Oil executives?

How many have stock in Big, or small oils?

How many of us are in a Saudi 'rOIL' family?


These profits probably help about .0002% of the american public. They must be making decisions based on something other that what is poular.....now....what could...it....be?

shmessy

Look, I'm the last one to defend Big Oil and their lackeys on Cap Hill, but this particular bill, rushed through at this time, looked a bit disingenuous and fishy to me.

I'm sorry, but it has the smell of short-term political grandstanding sticking to it big-time. I would hope Pelosi and Reid would actually have the substance to come up with a long-term energy proposal (as they promised 1.5 years ago).

This garbage is as bad as Hilary and McCain grandstanding the "Repeal the Gas Tax" b.s. last month.

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otis p. driftwood

See, the windfall profits tax is a bad idea. Think it through with me for a minute, forgetting that it's Dems v. R's and that it's oil...who's to say what's an "unreasonable profit"? You want to give congress that much power?

And all windfall taxes would do is raise prices.

Now this (from your link) is what's really rotten:
Separately, Democrats also failed to get Republican support for a proposal to extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. The tax breaks have either expired or are scheduled to end this year.

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Real World

It's a dumb idea, and an awful bill. It's only meant to pander to the public. This is why our country is in shambles. There is a leadership void in all directions. You can win elections in this country by pointing fingers at the other guy, while saying "I'm not them", but eventually, after you get elected, you need to have a clue. If you don't, it won't be long before that person you pointed at X years ago, is standing there, pointing back at you.

Lather, rinse, repeat...as Joe Taxpayer suffers.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

shmessy

\

I agree 100%. The REAL tragedy was not the defeat of the fishy/pandering windfall tax thing. The REAL TRAGEDY was the non-support for extending the altenergy tax breaks. That's simply unacceptable.

Instead of inventing a windfall tax, they should have been looking to repeal that infamous $4 billion tax break for Big Oil and redirected it to the altenergy tax break.

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"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

FootballYouBet

As much as I hate the Bush administration and the neocon crowd that have hijacked the Republican party, the Windfall profits tax was a stupid idea. It would solve nothing and it would make absolutely no difference. It's just another example of political grandstanding and what is wrong with Congress.

If you want to beat up on the Republicans, beat them up for voting not to extend tax breaks for alternative energies, or voting against these things below:

_Require traders to put up more collateral in the energy futures markets and open the way for federal regulation of traders who are based in the United States but use foreign trading platforms. The measures are designed to reduce market speculation.

_Make oil and gas price gouging a federal crime, with stiff penalties of up to $5 million during a presidentially declared energy emergency.

_Authorize the Justice Department to bring charges of price fixing against countries that belong to the OPEC oil cartel.

PATSNUTme

How would this have helped the average guy at the gas pump? The politicians are mostly responsible for the high gas prices. Yet, they point their shameful fingers at Oil exec's. I've never heard an Oil Exec say he was looking out for the people, but I'veheard plenty of politicians say that.

Sure there are other reasons and I don't for one minute think Oil companies are concerned about the average guy. But, it's the politicians who have blocked energy developement in our own country and we are paying hte price for that now.

In 1995, Clinton vetoed a bill that would have allowed drilling in Anwar. If he hadn't, we would have that oil now. I'm just not blaming the Dem's, there are many Rep's who were dumb and happy without an real energy policy.

patsfan13

IF taxes are raised on oil companies gas will cost us more.

Do you want to pay more for GAS??????????

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