Coston's Complaint: Democrats Propose Another Windfall Tax on Oil Companies

Friday, January 20, 2012

Democrats Propose Another Windfall Tax on Oil Companies

The Wizard of Oz’s lost munchkin has once again proposed a windfall tax on oil companies. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (understudy to the lead lollipop kid) wants a government sponsored board to monitor gas prices, and determine what constitutes a just profit:

The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a "windfall profit tax" as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit.

The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding "a reasonable profit." It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. Unlike other bills setting up advisory boards, the Reasonable Profits Board would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.

I believe citizens in individual states should establish a council to determine a windfall tax on politicians and their beneficiaries who profit from taxpayer largess. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have profited handsomely from campaign bundlers, who in turn have received federal government guaranteed loans.

Solyndra is a fine example of government sponsored venturism, and the graft known as green energy. The waste involved in this bankruptcy case is a testament to state sponsored coercion.

So why is a bankrupt company that owes a fortune to creditors, including American taxpayers, throwing away millions of dollars worth of assets?

Solyndra is not commenting. But court documents reveal the company received permission from the bankruptcy trustee to abandon the high grade glass, the court agreeing that it was of “inconsequential value” because the cost of storing them exceeds their value.

An employee for Heritage Global Partners, the company in charge of selling Solyndra’s assets, told CBS 5 they conducted an exhaustive search for buyers but no one wanted them.

But how exhaustive was that search? The tubes were never included on the list of Solyndra assets put up for sale at two auctions last year.

If they were, David Lucky told CBS 5 he would have bought them. “We certainly would have bid on them, yes,” Lucky said.

Lucky owns several large warehouses near Las Vegas. He buys and then resells manufacturing equipment and components all the time.

“Our company has bought a lot of stuff over the years. Truck loads and warehouses full of inventory that companies were just ready to send to the dump, because they don’t want to take the time to find markets for it,” he said.

We currently have over a dozen government sponsored green energy companies filing for bankruptcy. You’d think that would’ve been enough for Obama and the Democratic Party; but you would be wrong. They are now doubling down through the Department of Agriculture:

President Obama's Department of Agriculture (USDA) called for applicants to receive the $25.4 million in funding flagged for rural green energy loan guarantees and grants, even as Obama's campaign released an ad defending the Solyndra loan.

"This funding will assist rural farmers, ranchers and business owners to build renewable energy projects, providing opportunities for new technologies, create green jobs and help America become more energy self-sufficient," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today in a statement.

The $25 million available today comes through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), and "will support at least $12.5 million in grant and approximately $48.5 million in guaranteed loan program level awards."

Since Barack Obama took office, gas prices have doubled. You’d think that would be a consideration for the implementation of the Keystone XL Pipeline; but apparently, it didn't even raise a blip on the radar. It makes you wonder what kind of an agenda this president has.