Are Oil Companies Breaking the Law and If Not Should Laws be Changed

[adios]

I've read and heard alot of rhetoric about how the oil companies are gouging. Also I've heard and read alot about people wanting to tax the oil company profits. If the oil companies are guilty of breaking the law then yeah lets build a case and prosecute. IMO they're probably not guilty of breaking the law but I could be convinced otherwise. Which brings up another question, if they're not guilty of breaking the law then should the laws be changed and if so how so? Taxes on gasoline tend to restrict supply and IMO they're a regressive form of taxation. We've discussed the possibility of redistributing taxes collected on gasoline before. If memory serve Wacki is the only poster I've read that has concrete proposals and ideas about redistributing income collected on gasoline taxes. Apologies if I'm forgetting other posters ideas. I've brought up the idea of government sponsored mass transit solutions but I haven't read any posts giving more details on how this might be accomplished. I don't have any myself but would certainly be interested in reading some.

[bobman0330]

Oil companies are not breaking any price gouging laws.

There seem to be two general proposals:

1. Pass a law that says, in effect, that gas has to be cheap and abundant. And then if that works, we can pass a law saying that AIDS and cancer won't kill people anymore.

2. Tax the "windfall profits" the oil companies are making. Somehow, this idea manages to be worse than idea #1. This is essentially a form of government-sponsored theft which flies in the face of property rights and the rule of law. Furthermore, it would destroy incentives for future investment, which is what we desperately need right now.

taxing oil profits won't significantly alter investment. do you honestly think that if Exxon made 8 billion last quarter they would do something differently? Plus, how much are oil companies investing in the US anyway?

[bobman0330]

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taxing oil profits won't significantly alter investment. do you honestly think that if Exxon made 8 billion last quarter they would do something differently? Plus, how much are oil companies investing in the US anyway?

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If Exxon expects its future profits to be stolen, you can be sure they won't be making risky investments. They're not investing in the US, they're investing in getting oil for us.

Technically, they're investing to make more money for themselves. But this just highlights how we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Also, whenever the federal government doesn't tax these companies and their profits, they need to come up with other ways of raising the money. that means either more debt or more taxes for the rest of us.

[bobman0330]

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Technically, they're investing to make more money for themselves. But this just highlights how we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Also, whenever the federal government doesn't tax these companies and their profits, they need to come up with other ways of raising the money. that means either more debt or more taxes for the rest of us.

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You seem to be implying that these companies aren't taxed at all. In fact, Exxon's only going to bank less than $8 billion, and the remainder is going to the US Treasury. INn fact, the total tax bill will probably be higher if Exxon decides to send some of these profits to the shareholders, who will pay tax on them again. So let's not pretend they aren't pulling their own weight. People just want to steal from them so: a. the gov't will have a little more money and b. they can pretend like they're doing something about oil prices.

[benfranklin]

If they are making huge profits because of supply and demand conditions, they are not breaking the law. If a number of them are colluding to create shortages, high prices, etc., then they are breaking the law.

Whatever the economics behind the gas situation, there is ample evidence that it is exacerbated by governments, state and local. While taxes on gas to pay for roads makes logical sense, it is a disproportionate burden on the poor.

Also, government must take a large part of the responsibility for supply problems. It has been decades since a new refinery was built in this country, and the hurricane shut-downs of gulf refineries were a large cause of recent jumps in gas prices. I heard a story on the news during that period about a company (in Arizona?) that was in its 6th or 7th year of working to get permits to build a new refinery.

Oil companies are most certinly breaking the law if you consider the Law of Human Decency and Morality to be a law. EXXON MADE $10 BILLION DOLLARS LAST QUARTER! How is that legal? Who could countenence such huge profits in a time when we are facing all these national security issues? As near as I can tell, George Bush and Richard Dick Cheney, that's who. If you want to lock someone up for breaking the law and ratting out covert agents in these uncertin times, I would start with those two.

[bobman0330]

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Oil companies are most certinly breaking the law if you consider the Law of Human Decency and Morality to be a law

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nope.

[BCPVP]

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EXXON MADE $10 BILLION DOLLARS LAST QUARTER! How is that legal?

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Uh...there's not law against making profits...?