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What a disappointment

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  • R Offline
    R Offline
    Rob Graham
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Obama's solution to energy problems: Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[^] Tax and spend will fix everything... Oh, and while we're at it, lets pump oil out of the strategic reserve to drive down prices (which would require congress to change the law that established the reserve as high costs at the pump don't quite qualify as a trigger for releasing the supply). I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

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    • R Rob Graham

      Obama's solution to energy problems: Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[^] Tax and spend will fix everything... Oh, and while we're at it, lets pump oil out of the strategic reserve to drive down prices (which would require congress to change the law that established the reserve as high costs at the pump don't quite qualify as a trigger for releasing the supply). I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

      P Offline
      P Offline
      Paul Conrad
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Rob Graham wrote:

      I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

      You aren't the only one.

      Rob Graham wrote:

      Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.

      Oh yeah. Big oil would just pass the taxation on to the consumer as an added cost on their part, thus increasing price of gas even more. A thousand dollar rebate? That's hardly a dent in my annual energy costs.

      "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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      • P Paul Conrad

        Rob Graham wrote:

        I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

        You aren't the only one.

        Rob Graham wrote:

        Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.

        Oh yeah. Big oil would just pass the taxation on to the consumer as an added cost on their part, thus increasing price of gas even more. A thousand dollar rebate? That's hardly a dent in my annual energy costs.

        "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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        Rob Graham
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Paul Conrad wrote:

        Big oil would just pass the taxation on to the consumer as an added cost

        Or just move the business out of the country.

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        • R Rob Graham

          Paul Conrad wrote:

          Big oil would just pass the taxation on to the consumer as an added cost

          Or just move the business out of the country.

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          P Offline
          Paul Conrad
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Rob Graham wrote:

          move the business out of the country.

          They could, and consumers would then still be stuck with paying any import fees imposed by Big Oil. Consumers lose either way.

          "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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          • R Rob Graham

            Obama's solution to energy problems: Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[^] Tax and spend will fix everything... Oh, and while we're at it, lets pump oil out of the strategic reserve to drive down prices (which would require congress to change the law that established the reserve as high costs at the pump don't quite qualify as a trigger for releasing the supply). I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

            S Offline
            S Offline
            Shog9 0
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Great. The Republican solution is to open up more land for drilling and hope the oil companies feel grateful or something. The Democrat solution is to burn off our strategic reserves and when that doesn't work tax the oil co. profits and hope they feel sufficiently chastised or something. If congress owned a puppy, the capitol would smell like piss... :rolleyes:

            Citizen 20.1.01

            'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

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            • R Rob Graham

              Obama's solution to energy problems: Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[^] Tax and spend will fix everything... Oh, and while we're at it, lets pump oil out of the strategic reserve to drive down prices (which would require congress to change the law that established the reserve as high costs at the pump don't quite qualify as a trigger for releasing the supply). I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Marc Clifton
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Christ. Why don't they take oil off the speculative market? Marc

              Thyme In The Country Interacx My Blog

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              • S Shog9 0

                Great. The Republican solution is to open up more land for drilling and hope the oil companies feel grateful or something. The Democrat solution is to burn off our strategic reserves and when that doesn't work tax the oil co. profits and hope they feel sufficiently chastised or something. If congress owned a puppy, the capitol would smell like piss... :rolleyes:

                Citizen 20.1.01

                'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

                P Offline
                P Offline
                Paul Conrad
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Shog9 wrote:

                If congress owned a puppy, the capitol would smell like piss...

                Don't forget about the puppy shit all over the place :rolleyes: The aroma X|

                "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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                • M Marc Clifton

                  Christ. Why don't they take oil off the speculative market? Marc

                  Thyme In The Country Interacx My Blog

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  Rob Graham
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market". The cause of the high price is simple supply and demand, and the supply is never going to catch up again (but could really fall behind if potential supply is artificially placed off limits like we are doing today). The long term fix is clearly to get off of fossil fuels, but that will require a carefully orchestrated transition, during which we need to remain economically sound enough to make the change. All approaches need to be on the table, including making the most of any supplies we have in our own back yard, aggressive transition to nuclear for mid term, and aggressive research on fusion for the future. Biofuels that divert food crops or arable land should NOT be part of the plan, but alternatives like algae, switchgrass and other not food competition sources of alcohol should be part of the mix. We had windfall profit taxes and strict fuel conservation in the 70's. The result was painful, and they were quickly abandoned when the supply constraints vanished. We should learn from that history, not repeat it. I wonder if politicians are convertible to biodiesel...

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                  • R Rob Graham

                    It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market". The cause of the high price is simple supply and demand, and the supply is never going to catch up again (but could really fall behind if potential supply is artificially placed off limits like we are doing today). The long term fix is clearly to get off of fossil fuels, but that will require a carefully orchestrated transition, during which we need to remain economically sound enough to make the change. All approaches need to be on the table, including making the most of any supplies we have in our own back yard, aggressive transition to nuclear for mid term, and aggressive research on fusion for the future. Biofuels that divert food crops or arable land should NOT be part of the plan, but alternatives like algae, switchgrass and other not food competition sources of alcohol should be part of the mix. We had windfall profit taxes and strict fuel conservation in the 70's. The result was painful, and they were quickly abandoned when the supply constraints vanished. We should learn from that history, not repeat it. I wonder if politicians are convertible to biodiesel...

                    O Offline
                    O Offline
                    Oakman
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    Rob Graham wrote:

                    All approaches need to be on the table, including making the most of any supplies we have in our own back yard, aggressive transition to nuclear for mid term, and aggressive research on fusion for the future. Biofuels that divert food crops or arable land should NOT be part of the plan, but alternatives like algae, switchgrass and other not food competition sources of alcohol should be part of the mix.

                    Does that mean we're heading for Titan, huh? Huh? Please?

                    Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

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                    • O Oakman

                      Rob Graham wrote:

                      All approaches need to be on the table, including making the most of any supplies we have in our own back yard, aggressive transition to nuclear for mid term, and aggressive research on fusion for the future. Biofuels that divert food crops or arable land should NOT be part of the plan, but alternatives like algae, switchgrass and other not food competition sources of alcohol should be part of the mix.

                      Does that mean we're heading for Titan, huh? Huh? Please?

                      Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

                      R Offline
                      R Offline
                      Rob Graham
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Well, I did say all approaches should be on the table...:rolleyes:

                      O 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • R Rob Graham

                        It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market". The cause of the high price is simple supply and demand, and the supply is never going to catch up again (but could really fall behind if potential supply is artificially placed off limits like we are doing today). The long term fix is clearly to get off of fossil fuels, but that will require a carefully orchestrated transition, during which we need to remain economically sound enough to make the change. All approaches need to be on the table, including making the most of any supplies we have in our own back yard, aggressive transition to nuclear for mid term, and aggressive research on fusion for the future. Biofuels that divert food crops or arable land should NOT be part of the plan, but alternatives like algae, switchgrass and other not food competition sources of alcohol should be part of the mix. We had windfall profit taxes and strict fuel conservation in the 70's. The result was painful, and they were quickly abandoned when the supply constraints vanished. We should learn from that history, not repeat it. I wonder if politicians are convertible to biodiesel...

                        A Offline
                        A Offline
                        Al Beback
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Rob Graham wrote:

                        It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market".

                        Sure, but any country can (and should) place a cap on the price of a consumer good, especially one that's so tightly bound to its economy. What do you think would happen to the price of oil if the US were to pass a law that says that gasoline cannot be sold for more than $3/gallon (with annual adjustments for inflation)?

                        My latest C# extension method:   public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values)   {       return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value));   } Example:   bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");

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                        • A Al Beback

                          Rob Graham wrote:

                          It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market".

                          Sure, but any country can (and should) place a cap on the price of a consumer good, especially one that's so tightly bound to its economy. What do you think would happen to the price of oil if the US were to pass a law that says that gasoline cannot be sold for more than $3/gallon (with annual adjustments for inflation)?

                          My latest C# extension method:   public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values)   {       return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value));   } Example:   bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");

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                          M Offline
                          Mike Gaskey
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Al Beback wrote:

                          What do you think would happen to the price of oil if the US were to pass a law that says that gasoline cannot be sold for more than $3/gallon

                          China and India would applaud.

                          Mike - typical white guy. The USA does have universal healthcare, but you have to pay for it. D'oh. Thomas Mann - "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." The NYT - my leftist brochure. Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist”. God doesn't believe in atheists, therefore they don't exist.

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                          • A Al Beback

                            Rob Graham wrote:

                            It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market".

                            Sure, but any country can (and should) place a cap on the price of a consumer good, especially one that's so tightly bound to its economy. What do you think would happen to the price of oil if the US were to pass a law that says that gasoline cannot be sold for more than $3/gallon (with annual adjustments for inflation)?

                            My latest C# extension method:   public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values)   {       return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value));   } Example:   bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");

                            R Offline
                            R Offline
                            Rob Graham
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            We'd soon be limited to what we produce internally (who would export to us?), which is a rather small part of the total. And a substantial part of that would disappear onto the black market (where it would be sold to the highest bidder). In the end there would be no legal gas available at any price, much less $3. Price capping is always a failure, and always results in supply vanishing. Sorry, but that is the stupidest idea I've heard today.

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                            • R Rob Graham

                              Well, I did say all approaches should be on the table...:rolleyes:

                              O Offline
                              O Offline
                              Oakman
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Rob Graham wrote:

                              Well, I did say all approaches should be on the table

                              I knew my Tom Corbett space decoder ring would come in handy if I kept it long enough! There's more natural gas sitting around in lakes on Titan than there is on all of the planet earth. If I had my druthers we'd spend our R & D money on going after it than trying to figure out how to run cars on celulose without having both the car and the fuel cost an arm and a leg.

                              Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

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                              • R Rob Graham

                                Obama's solution to energy problems: Under Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax, the government would tax some of the profits from big oil corporations and use it to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[^] Tax and spend will fix everything... Oh, and while we're at it, lets pump oil out of the strategic reserve to drive down prices (which would require congress to change the law that established the reserve as high costs at the pump don't quite qualify as a trigger for releasing the supply). I'm really tired of politics and polemics instead of actual plans and programs.

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                He thinks there are some out there who are NOT struggling with high energy costs?

                                D 1 Reply Last reply
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                                • L Lost User

                                  He thinks there are some out there who are NOT struggling with high energy costs?

                                  D Offline
                                  D Offline
                                  Dan Neely
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  It depends on what your budget looks like. I doubt the Goracle has a problem with his energy budget despite flying all over the world and living in a house that guzzles more power a month than the average household does in a year. :rolleyes: Getting a bit more down to earth, my current roundtrip commute is only 1 gallon of gas and my landlord pays the heating bill, so it only directly significantly affects me when I go on vacation.

                                  Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall

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                                  • A Al Beback

                                    Rob Graham wrote:

                                    It's a global commodity, with global speculation. No one country can unilaterally "take it off the speculative market".

                                    Sure, but any country can (and should) place a cap on the price of a consumer good, especially one that's so tightly bound to its economy. What do you think would happen to the price of oil if the US were to pass a law that says that gasoline cannot be sold for more than $3/gallon (with annual adjustments for inflation)?

                                    My latest C# extension method:   public static bool In<T>(this T value, params T[] values)   {       return values.Any(v => v.Equals(value));   } Example:   bool valid = answer.In("Yes", "No", "Dunno");

                                    L Offline
                                    L Offline
                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    Al Beback wrote:

                                    Sure, but any country can (and should) place a cap on the price of a consumer good

                                    No... they shouldn't.

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                                    • M Marc Clifton

                                      Christ. Why don't they take oil off the speculative market? Marc

                                      Thyme In The Country Interacx My Blog

                                      K Offline
                                      K Offline
                                      kumpm
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Hope this link isn't too late, but the democrats tried to stop oil speculation but were stopped by the republicans in the Senate. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_go_co/congress_energy[^]

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                                      • D Dan Neely

                                        It depends on what your budget looks like. I doubt the Goracle has a problem with his energy budget despite flying all over the world and living in a house that guzzles more power a month than the average household does in a year. :rolleyes: Getting a bit more down to earth, my current roundtrip commute is only 1 gallon of gas and my landlord pays the heating bill, so it only directly significantly affects me when I go on vacation.

                                        Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall

                                        O Offline
                                        O Offline
                                        Oakman
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        dan neely wrote:

                                        my landlord pays the heating bill

                                        When does it come time to renegotiate the rent?

                                        Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

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                                        • K kumpm

                                          Hope this link isn't too late, but the democrats tried to stop oil speculation but were stopped by the republicans in the Senate. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_go_co/congress_energy[^]

                                          R Offline
                                          R Offline
                                          Rob Graham
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Since the democrats control the Senate, and can determine what gets voted on and what doesn't, that article is pure partisan BS. The democrats themselves pulled the measure, because they were unwilling to risk amendments that might have allowed off-shore drilling. Not to mention that this would only subject US speculators participating in the London markets to "some scrutiny", not speculators from any other country. The bill was a joke designed to trick us into believing they were doibng something, but in reality, since commodity speculation is an international business, it was worhtless political posturing. Just what I complained about to begin with. Don't let these idiots fool you. It was just more junk politics. We need to kick ALL the incumbents out, and start clean.

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