At 8:29 AM -0600 2/18/07, Matt Logan wrote: >Eric, > >> Let us leave raiding oil profits out of the >> mix, though. > >Well, it is in the mix. The Governor put it in the mix. And my point >is that the existence of that "excessive oil profits tax" in the >Governor's budget proves we have a problem. If there is a systemic >problem that is distorting the market and creating those excess profits, >then we should be spending the money to correct the problem, not make it >worse. Otherwise, I see no rationale for taxing those excess profits in >the first place.
Matt, I think the only thing the tax proposal proves is that the Governor sees an opportunity. My cynical view is that the Governor is trying to balance the budget while keeping the road-builder lobby happy, and is looking for easy money. He's capitalizing on the public's irritation with high gas prices. The fact that Exxon-Mobil set a world record last year for the most profit ever for any corporation certainly helps his case. The Governor seems to be arguing that the excess profits are simply a result of the oil companies being 'greedy'. Well no shit. Unfortunately I haven't heard him say anything that indicates he understands the real problem - the dependence on personal motor vehicles. That's the situation that allows oil companies to exploit consumers in the first place. I think the '10% for bikes' is a great idea. I'd also like to the other 90% of the tax go towards public transporation and smart growth. -darin -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Darin Burleigh [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
