The Captain has two really fine posts today that I recommend for your morning reading:
The Real Beneficiary of High Gas Prices, about the government’s often ignored role in your pain at the pump, and Egypt and Jordan, White Knights, about the spiraling insanity in Gaza, and a possible outcome that could work to Israel’s benefit.
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It is rather fascinating – our idiot Cantwell (the senate uses her as a doorstop, I think) is going to launch yet another probe into “price gouging.” The previous 117 probes have found zero evidence for it, ever, not once, never; but what the hell, it looks good. To the kind of dopes who vote for her. Looking good is an adequate substitute for actually being useful these days, I guess.
But it’s nice to see the Captain run the numbers – yet again.
The government makes more from a gallon of gas than the oil company does; the government makes more from a pack of cigarettes than the tobacco company does (you want to sue somebody? Sue the government, they’re the ones with all the money); and the government makes more from a bottle of Stolichnaya than Russia does.
They do rather well, the government. And the Clinton woman has announced that she plans to take all the “excess” profits from the oil companies – just “take” it – and give it to whoever she wishes to give it to. Whichever pal needs the money. The Hugo Chavez economic model.
The fact that the communist bloc did this for 75 years and fell on its face is a historical lesson lost, I guess, on her.
I’m amazed at two things about this: a) how easily everybody is steered toward looking at the oil companies and their alleged “excess” profits, just as though there was no one else in this mix; and b) how very, very easy it is to see this clearly: the research and numbers are all readily available.
Anyone ill-informed enough to believe there’s gouging to be disenfranchised. People so wilfully ignorant ought not to be allowed to have any influence over the rest of us.
BW,
My own and the President’s Congressman, Chet Edwards (D-Tx 17) in his weekly radio interview also mentioned the never proved “price gouging of EXXON” charge. It should be noted that his last political opponent was Van Taylor, whose grandfather was a founder of Humble Oil, now EXXON, so Chet could still be beating a dead man. Chet Edwards is a brass knuckles sort of politician so the thought should not be immediately dismissed.
However, the Texas State House has a bill to lower state tax on gas 20 cents for the summer. We’ll see how that goes.