Time for Excess Profits Tax on Big Oil!

They claim the spring maintenance is the reason for the highest gas prices ever in this Country.

you'd think they'd be plannin ahead after all these years.

if oil were a truly competitive marketplace, instead of the corrupt, price fixing industry it has shown itself to be (and i don't need a court of law to tell me what is clear, that big oil doesn't really compete against one another...gas stations might, but oil companies don't) i would let it be...but year after year of this crap and the innocent denials from the industry is getting a bit nauseating.

but unfortunately, in the end, all that will happen is a couple of gas sation independent owners will go down, "abu gihrab" style.

It is time for Congress to act and it may take until after the 2008 election for a change!

Why are you complaining again?

Here is a little data from California...

January 1999


January 2007

source:Link

Crude oil costs are more than five times what they were eight years ago. Over half of the crude this country consumes comes from foreign sources. Big oil might be making record profits but the other half of the oil we consume is costing us just as much (and BTW you ignore again a previous point by Brad that their profit margins are really weak at something like 11%).

I know it hurts to go to the pump but the simple fact is that it costs more to drill for oil. I am not going to rehash all of the things I said before but you blame the execs for lining their pockets without a shred of proof. I can tell you, from experience, that that money works its way all the way down the pipeline. We are loosing an employee a month to other companies and they are leaving for as little as $15k more a year (most for double that). I am talking about accountants, regulatory people, well site supervisors ... you know the average Joe who works paycheck to paycheck.

So exactly who is claiming spring maintenance? Is this yet another of your inflammatory articles that has no basis in fact at all? Tune in again to the tired rantings of another idiot with an internet connection and a hatred for anybody who made better choices in life than him.

The state and federal governments already get more per gallon than the oil companies.  If anyone is guilty of gouging, it's our own elected officials. 

This is so ridiculous as usual.

With the obscene profits oil companies have received they have not built ANY new refineries in 20 years to deal with the supply issue they claim is why prices are high

. Oil companies can't just buy a patch of land and build a refinery. Do you understand who puts up the most obstacles when it comes to building new, cleaner refineries?

The increase in gas prices is FAR worse then any tax increase because it is harms ALL Americans and ALL American Business. For any of the conservatives that wail against tax increases, it is time to stop the rape by Big Oil!

Right col. Because taxing "big oil" as lefties put it, is going to reduce gas prices. Once more all you have done is made a clueless case for tax increases for someone else.

lol,,,this is what i said...i can't speak for the col. ....



and here you are flaunting a bunch of gas station data. this isn't about them. this isn't about scapegoating some small business for chargin a dime more than the place down the street.

this is about the collusion of the industry from the top. an "old boys club" way of beating the system.

oil companies put up 1/2 assed efforts to show that they are trying...as soon as anyone voices an opposition, they throw up their hands and act helpless...big whoop.


and for the record, i'm not so sure about a tax, per se...but we can do better than the way we have let big oil run amock. and again, it isn't about the local 7-11 hittin me for an extra dime a gallon.

Just John

If the Oil companies were to just increasing their retail prices to cover their added cost (Crude, Refining etc) their profits will not be skyrocketing. The increase in the retail cost is impacting every facet of the economy. Small Business, low and middle income workers and it is also increasing the end cost of anything that requires energy to produce which is just about everything. The Oil companies control supplies and manipulate that supply to drive up profits. This is a major economic problem and if it goes on too long and the price continues to increase, the effects will be substantial! Increasing oil prices is far worse then any tax increase. You would scream about a tax increase but make excuses for the unwarranted increase in gas prices.

The state and federal governments already get more per gallon than the oil companies. If anyone is guilty of gouging, it's our own elected officials. This has NOTHING to do with the increase in gas prices

half of those supplies are controlled by opec

you know the aribs and venzualy

half of which are open and/or hidden enemies of the united states

Just John

From you chart--Look at Refinery Cost and PROFIT 1999 was about $.28 in Feb 2007 $.75. No matter what BS you spew, the profits BIG OIL is showing would not be increasing like they are if they were just increasing prices to cover higher COSTS!

and what is that 75 cents paying for

this is only the profit from the oil not the company profit


this is like complaining about the prices at the movies for candy and drinks and popcorn

we all know you can get the same stuff for half the price

but the theatries are only trying to stay open specifically the $1 theaters becouse their only profits come from those three things

What is this? Summer Re-runs? We had this conversation before and it's as if Gene simply chose to ignore it.

Using loaded language like "obscene profits" doesn't make it so.

If I make $300 billion and $30 billion is profit, that's only a 10% margin which is hardly "obscene".

I'd like to know who the philosopher demigod is gonna be who is going to decide how much money you make is too much. Odd... you know I don't recall seeing the Col commenting on the profit margin of, oh, say Microsoft. What about the great diamond cartel that controls the profit on rocks that otherwise would be mediocre in price?

Why oil, Col? Could it be an extension of your hatred for Bush? Don't try to say it is because it is a resource people "need", because people could cut their consumption by tons if they so chose, saving themselves the extra money. Allowing the market to determine price is a cornerstone of economic freedom.

Goes to show the people who oppose those they consider dictatorial are usually just as dictatorial themselves...

again,,,can't speak for the col,,, but i look at it as more of an issue that this industry is anti-competitive. and no baker, i don't have all the answers there, but it does irk me. everytime i look at that industry there is a lot of happenstance that always seems to end up meaning they make more money. and the sob stories from the industry really don't impress me or give me much confidence.

that's all i'm sayin,,,i'm not trying to dictate anything to anyone. i just think a closer look might be in order.

Before you yell at me... pay attention to the details.

That says cost and profits. I can't speak for the refining costs because once we sell our oil/gas; we don't see anymore direct data.

I can tell you without a doubt that it costs a lot more to get it out of he ground because everyone is busting ass to get it done. Realistic figures run like this: In 1999 my company was paying $350/day for a well site supervisor (his job is exactly as it sounds, he is responsible for everything at the rig). Just two years ago that day rate was at $600. Today I am lucky to see someone at $1050 a day.

We are killing our guys for that price. Our average WSS works 49-50 weeks a year. In the past we could get a one year contract on a rig now three years is a minimum. In turn I have to charge my clients more to cover my future rig costs because as quick as this business booms it also dries up.

Look, I get it. You went to fill up and your panties are in a bunch over it but you really don't know what you are talking about. You look at raw figures without regard to margins and then say profits are outrageous when the real reason profits are up is because consumption is up. Consumption further drives the price you pay at the pump up because it is harder to keep up with demand. Refineries are paying overtime rates to men who make $40/hr+. $.75 a gallon including cost to maintain and staff a refinery when production is driven to the limit isn't hard to believe.

If you wan to bitch about no new refineries in so many years, save your breath and punch a tree huggin hippy. It won't change a thing but I bet you'll feel better.

For over 30 years the oil companies have been begging for help in getting new refineries built. The environmentalist have blocked every chance we had of having lower oil prices by blocking Nuclear Power Plants to the point that if you wanted to build one it will take 40 years of environmental paper work and studies before the first piece of dirt can be moved in order to build the plant. It takes thirty years from the time they finish the law suits to stop them before they can start building a refinery. 20 years ago the oil companies said they needed new refineries in order to keep up with demand. The environmental groups said that we don’t need more refineries we need to conserve and not drive gas guzzling cars. 20 years have passed and just as they predicted we are not keeping up with demand. The refineries 20 years ago they were at 70% capacity, now they are at 95% capacity. This means that when they shut down a section of the refinery for maintenance there is no refinery in the nation that can pick up the slack which would keep prices stable so any problem with any refinery means higher gas prices.
I don’t understand why liberals get upset when the price of oil or petrol goes up. the environmentalist have been saying for 30 years that petrol should be $5.00 a gallon or higher in order to save the planet. It is what these people want and now we hear complaints because the oil companies are the ones making the money. Who did they think was going to make the money? My family used to own a gas station and by law the gas station is only allowed to make .03 cents per gallon, not profit but gross. .87 cents a gallon went to the government and by federal law the oil companies can only make .10 cents a gallon leaving the rest as the cost to buy the oil and refine the oil into gasoline, who makes the lions share of the profit? Investors that set the price of oil the next biggest winner is the government. Keep in mind that in order to buy the oil at higher prices is paid from the profits earned. That means that if the nuts get their way and tax the profits of oil companies where will the oil companies get the money to buy more oil?
Lets try to think ahead, we need new oil refineries just to keep up with current demand and new refineries to deal with future requirements. One way to bring the price of oil down is to build nuclear power plants which would mean the oil used to fuel power plants could be used to make more gasoline meaning lower prices. If we do this then under current laws in 50 years we can lower gas prices by three dollars the problem is by then the price of petrol will be about 30 dollars a gallon. The chance we had to bring down oil prices passed 20 years ago. Aren’t you people happy we listened to them back then? How much better the world is because we allowed nuts to block our growth potential?

“half of those supplies are controlled by opec”

That cost is in the crude oil price. The retail price of refined product is what the Oil Companies control by how much they refine of each product. They also control that by not investing in more refining capacity so they keep the supply low relative to demand. Oil in not Free enterprise. It is a closely controlled business of an essential commode and the oil companies with the concurrence of the federal government are allowed to screw the public and business. It is time we all insist we tax away the profit that is unreasonable and that results from their manipulation of the supply of refined product. They can impact Gas prices by just shifting more oil to fuel oil rather then gas. They can reverse that and drive up heating oil by refining more gas and creating a shortage of heating oil!

That cost is in the crude oil price. The retail price of refined product is what the Oil Companies control by how much they refine of each product. They also control that by not investing in more refining capacity so they keep the supply low relative to demand. Oil in not Free enterprise. It is a closely controlled business of an essential commode and the oil companies with the concurrence of the federal government are allowed to screw the public and business. It is time we all insist we tax away the profit that is unreasonable and that results from their manipulation of the supply of refined product. They can impact Gas prices by just shifting more oil to fuel oil rather then gas. They can reverse that and drive up heating oil by refining more gas and creating a shortage of heating oil!

Before you speew any more of this "ignorant" drivel, go read reply #17 and learn something.

They shut the refinery down in my hometown in the mid 80's. Why? Because the cost of upgrading to federal mandates exceeded the profits from selling oil. Were you begging the government to subsidize big oil to build refineries then?

becouse the liberals and the democrats want the 5.00 a gallion to be taxes not profits

Good point. After all, we raise the price of cigarettes artificially to ween society off of them. Is the problem that the price is prohibitive, or that the excess money isn't going into the pockets of socialist cronies?

this is not a liberal vs. conservative thing in the least. the discontent with the price of gas isn't a party matter as i see it. where blame is based might be more partissan, but not the price and the crunch on the wallet.

OMG. Who do you think will suffer because of this tax? Not "big oil", that's for sure.

The solution is, though. There's nothing "conservative" about imposed price ceilings and punitive taxation on profits. Conservatives who propose such are departing from their philosophy.