Windfall Tax On Oil Profits Needed After “Forecast-Busting First-Quarter Earnings “

The news should not startle anyone who feels like they need a bank loan to fill the gas tank on their car.  Gasoline prices have rocketed, and predictions are that things will get worse.  Now comes word that forecast-busting first-quarter earnings were reported by oil companies which only adds salt to the wound.

BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry.

BP posted a 63 percent surge in first-quarter net profit to $7.6 billion (4.9 billion euros), while Shell reported a 25 percent rise, to a record $9.08 billion (5.81 billion euros).

Revenue at BP jumped 44 percent to $89.2 billion (57.1 billion euros), while sales at Shell soared 55 percent to $114 billion (72.95 billion euros).

Last week ConocoPhillips reported a 16 percent rise in net income to $4.14 billion. Like BP and Shell, the third biggest U.S. producer far outpaced industry expectations. More big profits are expected from the biggest two U.S. companies, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., when they report first-quarter earnings later this week.

The combined profits of $17 billion, at a time when Americans are falling behind on mortgage payments, and struggling to find the money to fill the tank just to get to work, should alert the White House about the need for legislative action.

Clearly there must be a windfall tax on oil profits, a remedy that has long been proposed, and one I strongly support.  Some of the smarter politicians understand the need for such a response.

“With the price of oil and gas skyrocketing, and the big oil companies continuing to enjoy record-breaking profits the time has come, among other things, to impose a windfall profits tax on the oil companies so that consumers don’t get gouged at the pump,” Senator Sanders said in a news release. “Congress and the president must say ‘no’ to the $213 million in campaign contributions that the oil industry has given to them since 1990 and ‘yes’ to consumers by taking this important step.”

The Bush White House has been too cozy with oil interests while the economic conditions for average and low income Americans have deteriorated.  Things are not going to get better as predictions of $200 a barrel oil is now being talked about.

Opec’s president on Monday warned oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help.

The comments made by Chakib Khelil, Algeria’s energy minister, came as oil prices hit a historic peak close to $120 a barrel, putting further pressure on global economies.

The prices for goods and services are climbing in the US, and the high price that truckers need to pay for fuel is the chief reason why.

Dave Gares, an independent truck driver since 1974 who hauls mostly soft drinks these days, never dreamed he’d be paying more than $4 per gallon for diesel.

It takes 220 gallons to fill up his tractor-trailer rig, which gets a little over six miles per gallon on the road. It costs Gares up to $1,400 to fill up, with the added cost of fuel additives to boost his truck’s mileage. He said he has to absorb the increases to stay competitive.

Clearly there needs to be a response to the obscene oil company profits that sap the incomes of families in America.

Technorati Tags: OilProfits, PresidentBush, BernieSanders, OPEC, WindfallTax

WMC And NRA Supports Michael Gableman Because He Will Be Pliable

If anyone has followed the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race even remotely these past weeks, it is clear that Michael Gableman is not ready for prime-time.  Not even close.  His canned and rehearsed answers, which he spouts regardless of the question being asked, demonstrates his lack of intellectual heft.  I truly felt embarrassed for him in the debate held this weekend on statewide TV because it was clear he was way in over his head.  Gableman proved that he did not have the substance and background that is required to do the job on the court, as he had no real answers to any question.  That has been true about his performance this entire campaign.  Political attacks and high rhetoric are not resume enhancing additions when seeking a seat on the court.

Worse yet his total disregard for basic constitutional safeguards makes him wrong on the issues, and wrong for the court.  It was so comical at times these past weeks listening to Gableman that I wanted to collect a fund in order to send him to a remedial civics course.

Having said that, why does Wisconsin Manufactures and Commence, and the National Rifle Association cozy up to such a dreadful and cerebrally challenged candidate?  How pliable do they know Michael Gableman to be?  The answer of course should concern all Wisconsin voters.

When I read that the NRA gave over $73,000 to the Gableman campaign, knowing as they must that he does not have the intellectual depth needed to do the job of the Wisconsin citizen  while serving on the court, I knew for certain that they had pegged him as a lightweight that would do their bidding. 

I for one do not want a Supreme Court judge merely playing the role of a jurist, while siding with the special monied interests that have proved many times not to have the best in mind for the workers and citizens of the state.  The rush by groups such as WMC and the NRA to unload money on a candidate that is clearly not ready for the job shows their true intent.  That should concern the voters right into the ballot box!

The money from WMC and the NRA to buy ads and votes is not because they are in love with the notion of democracy, mom, and apple pie.  They want high court rulings to reflect their narrow vision of what the law should, or should not allow.  If WMC and the NRA win with their money on Tuesday that means the Wisconsin citizen will have lost.

This is the year for change.  From top to bottom voters can send a message that we want and expect higher quality candidates, and more responsive government.  And we want to put an end to the special interests making sure that the working men and women who pay the taxes are left outside the circle. 

We can send a message to WMC and the NRA on Tuesday when we cast a ballot for Louis Butler for Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

That message will also be heard by the nation that is watching this race.

Technorati Tags: LouisButler, MichaelGableman, WisconsinStateSupremeCourt, Wisconsin, Madison, Conservatives,

Don “Nappy-Headed Ho’s” Imus Is Back On The Radio

No one will ever confuse NPR and Don Imus.  No one will ever confuse good taste with Don Imus.  Perhaps it is just a sign of the times we live in, along with the general public attitude, where someone like Imus can climb back into a radio studio and have an open microphone after proving he is not worthy of such a job.

I know there are many of his listeners who are ready for his return.  They will laugh at his antics, and urge him to test the limits of good taste again and again.  And I am also certain that he will not let them down.  The man has shown his addictive personality over time.  First with drugs in his personal life, and then offensive language and ill tempered remarks on the airwaves for years.  He will not be able to contain his darker side on the air.  It is just his nature.

But I also know that there are millions of others that find his type of radio humor deplorable and outrageous.  That doesn’t make us more moral or correct.  It just means that we care about the airwaves, and have some standards about what we listen to on the radio.  We hope that radio broadcasting can be enlightening, rather than a cesspool of snide remarks and objectionable material.  Having once worked in radio I tend to care more about the role radio plays in our society than others.  Label me old-fashioned, but then consider the alternative such as Don Imus.

Don Imus is back on the air today.  How long will it be before he has set off another verbal bomb of profanity and bad taste?  How many others will be hurt by Imus before we can retire this shock jock?

Technorati Tags: DonImus, Radio, DailyNews, NPR

Look What Business Lobby Wants From This White House

What must be considered a must read in the Sunday newspaper is the following wish list from the business community, as it comes to understand that Democrats may lead Washington in 2009.  The big bad guys have to make their move now while President Bush is still in office.

Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.

At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover.

Coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys. It would be prohibitively expensive to haul away the material, they say, and there are no waste sites in the area. Luke Popovich, a vice president of the National Mining Association, said that a Democratic president was more likely to side with “the greens.”

Technorati Tags: BusinessLobby, BigBusiness, Election08, NewYorkTimes