WTF?
K... so Obama wins the Democratic presidential candidacy (we think)... and then says this.
Okay, first Hillary comes out saying that she doesn't need to listen to experts in their field because she doesn't want to throw her lot in with them... now Obama is saying that we should tax the profits of oil companies to get money to help people pay for gas.
I don't like the way the Democrats are sounding on this. I mean... ignore the economists. Put a tax on the oil companies profits... this of course means that the oil companies will either reduce output (they did it before) or raise prices to pay for the tax. And then guess what? the money that we're taxing out of them will be going RIGHT BACK to them when we pay for the higher price of gas at the pump.
Can I PLEASE hear someone... Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Communist, I don't give a flying fuck who... tell me something reasonable? Like "I will back heavy government investment into coal-based gasoline, fuel efficient engine designs, and cars based on rational hybrid technologies."
Because, if you didn't know... people are saying the government should lower prices by taking away taxes, or punishing company profits, and pushing investment into Ethanol. Which uses more oil to produce than, well, oil.
I know I don't know the answers, but could we at least get some rational discourse on realistic solutions?
The continued insanity lends credence to my tin-foil hat based theory of government conspiracy. The U.S. government is purposely doing what they can to force the price of gasoline higher and higher to get American citizens so pissed off they'll accept a dramatic paradigm shift in their views on mass transit and lifestyle. Or else it's a ploy to distract people from the erosion of civil liberty across the board. Or as a way to make people forget about how fucked up certain things in the country are getting...
'Course, as fucked up as things are here, I'd rather live here than most other countries.
Okay, first Hillary comes out saying that she doesn't need to listen to experts in their field because she doesn't want to throw her lot in with them... now Obama is saying that we should tax the profits of oil companies to get money to help people pay for gas.
I don't like the way the Democrats are sounding on this. I mean... ignore the economists. Put a tax on the oil companies profits... this of course means that the oil companies will either reduce output (they did it before) or raise prices to pay for the tax. And then guess what? the money that we're taxing out of them will be going RIGHT BACK to them when we pay for the higher price of gas at the pump.
Can I PLEASE hear someone... Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Communist, I don't give a flying fuck who... tell me something reasonable? Like "I will back heavy government investment into coal-based gasoline, fuel efficient engine designs, and cars based on rational hybrid technologies."
Because, if you didn't know... people are saying the government should lower prices by taking away taxes, or punishing company profits, and pushing investment into Ethanol. Which uses more oil to produce than, well, oil.
I know I don't know the answers, but could we at least get some rational discourse on realistic solutions?
The continued insanity lends credence to my tin-foil hat based theory of government conspiracy. The U.S. government is purposely doing what they can to force the price of gasoline higher and higher to get American citizens so pissed off they'll accept a dramatic paradigm shift in their views on mass transit and lifestyle. Or else it's a ploy to distract people from the erosion of civil liberty across the board. Or as a way to make people forget about how fucked up certain things in the country are getting...
'Course, as fucked up as things are here, I'd rather live here than most other countries.