A moron thus tweeteh

[KLATTU]

Elizabeth Warren Says the Solution to High Gas Prices Is Higher Taxes on Oil Companies

"Putin's war is causing gas prices to rise, but this is no excuse for large oil companies to pad their...

reason.com

"Putin's war is causing gas prices to rise, but this is no excuse for large oil companies to pad their bottom line with war-fueled profits," tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) along with an MSNBC video of her explaining her stance. "Senate Democrats are watching closely—and already working on a windfall profits tax." Warren also said that she gets "supply and demand—that prices go up" but that "profit margins should not go up, that's just oil companies gouging."

What she calls "gouging" is actually demand adjusting to supply. She also forgets that higher profit margins strongly incentivize entrepreneurs to supply more of a good to the market thus eventually driving down prices through competition.

Leaving aside the fact that the senator has evidently never met a corporate tax she didn't want to hike, history shows that imposing a windfall profits tax on oil is particularly shortsighted. As part his administration's response to the Iran oil shock that tripled the price of petroleum in 1979, President Jimmy Carter championed the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of 1980."

She persists with this nonsense.The Government should determine how much private companies can make! SMH

 

[NatMorton]

We could knock about $0.50 a gallon off the price tomorrow by suspending federal and state gas taxes.

As for this:

Warren also said that she gets "supply and demand—that prices go up" but that "profit margins should not go up, that's just oil companies gouging."

... you should believe that only if you're spectacularly ignorant to the point of not understanding how fixed costs work.

 

[MamboDervish]

Warren is essentially correct. Before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the oil companies were already making more than a TRILLION DOLLAR$ a YEAR in PROFITS !!

Alas, it will never occur to the terminally dense, who insist on driving a gas-guzzling 15-20 mpg SUV, that if they were driving a more economical 30-40 mpg vehicle, they would be cutting their costs at the pumps literally in half! If a person isn't getting 35 miles to the gallon, I'm not inclined to listen to their bitching about gas prices.

 

[mike2810]

Oil companies can make all they want. Warren just wants them to pay more taxes.

 

[Roadvirus]

Fake Indian says what?

 

[KLATTU]

Warren is essentially correct. Before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the oil companies were already making more than a TRILLION DOLLAR$ a YEAR in PROFITS !!

And???
You sell a product people really want, you're going to make a profit if you play your cards right.Is it up to the Gov't to figure out what level of profits is acceptable?

 

[MamboDervish]

Is it up to the Gov't to figure out what level of profits is acceptable?

It's definitely up to the government to prevent price fixing, and other market manipulations, like contrived shortages.
Who else should it be up to? You?

 

[KLATTU]

It's definitely up to the government to prevent price fixing, and other market manipulations, like contrived shortages.
Who else should it be up to? You?

wasn't the question.

 

[MamboDervish]

wasn't the question.

I take it this means you don't like my question?