windfall profits — VOICES for REASON

For years, every time Exxon Mobil and other successful oil companies made a large profit, they were blasted for making “too much” money, hauled in front of Congress to explain themselves, and threatened with a “windfall profits” tax.

Well, now that Exxon and Shell have just revealed that their profits fell 2/3 from last year, is Congress going to offer them a sympathy card, an apology, and a “windfall losses” tax credit? After all, if the oil industry deserves extra taxation just for making unusually high profits, shouldn’t it receive compensatory tax credits when its profits crash? Why the double standard?

Of course, Congress has no interest in fairness or consistency with regard to oil companies. If it did, it would be grateful to them for providing a product vital to our lives, admire their efficiency and profitability, and recognize that what they really deserve — and have an inalienable right to — is to be free of government interference, with complete responsibility for their losses and an absolute right to their profits.