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Gas Attack folly
Let's make one thing clear. George Bush is never going to pass a windfall profit tax on oil companies. Never. Ain't gonna happen. If he's attacked for it what does he care? He's the most unpopular president in history. A few more points won't bother him in the short run and he'd just turn the bill back on her.
If Hillary is really serious about passing this tax giveaway she'd have to co-sponsor a bill with McCain in the Senate. He'd probably even go along with her on the windfall profit tax to distance himself from Bush. McSame desperately needs an issue to distance himself from the most hated man in America. If by some miracle she gets Pelosi and Reid to buy in and gets her bill passed in a few weeks Bush will veto it. Repubs will clamor for stripping the windfall tax out of the bill. Then she can go along and gut the Highway Trust Fund or spend the summer explaining to disappointed drivers how she was for the bill before she was against it.
It isn't good policy. You know once Repubs have the camel's nose
under the tent will be urging the "tax cut" be made permanent all fall
long. That'd be another $10 billion a year we'll borrow from the Chinese for the kids to pay off.
The bill itself would be a lose-lose for Clinton and the American people which would be evident in a few short months. Not to mention superdels in congress who rely on bringing home bacon like highway funds to prove they're actually doing something for the state or district in Washington.
This doesn't help Hillary with them and tt'll actually hurt her this fall in the general if she does steal the nomination. It's a perfect example of how bereft she is of ideas and desperate to latch on to any issue that'll help her in the last few primaries.
With sensible voters it'll backfire. It remains to be seen how many sensible voters there are left.
Comments (4)
The windfall tax will only hurt the shareholders. If you have an IRA, a 401K, 403B or just a regular mutual fund this will hurt you.
May 2, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sarg there isn't going to be a windfall tax to pay for a gas "holiday" this summer because Bush won't sign it. Period.
May 2, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Consider also that a corporation is a vehicle for transmitting not only risk, but also costs, which taxes most certainly are, downstream.
The real flaw is that no "windfall profits tax" is going to lower prices. As covered on TPM's front pager about this, oil companies sell all the gas they make, so there's no incentive to lower prices. They'll simply pass the costs of the tax along, and the losers will be the American people, who will have even less resources for the maintenance of an already crumbling infrastructure.
The 35W bridge that fell in Minneapolis is what gas tax cuts will look like. Sound like a plan to you?
May 2, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nope it doesn't sound like a plan to me. But again there will be no windfall profits tax this summer because Bush will veto the bill and demand they send it back to him with no tax hike. Hillary and McCain might be able to create a demand for a gas tax "holiday" but Bush will demand it be put on the grandkid's tab.
Here's hoping the American people finally wise up and realize there's no such thing as a free lunch.
May 2, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
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