Thursday, March 29, 2007

Good Press, Bad Public Policy to Tax Oil Companies

From today's Detroit News, my article "Penalizing Oil Companies Ends Up Hurting America,"

"Major U.S. oil companies already spend more on energy research and development (including biofuels and other renewable energy sources) than they earn in profits. That's on top of huge capital investments to meet our nation's growing demand for oil and natural gas.

Stigmatizing and penalizing our own oil companies might make for good press but it is bad public policy. It will likely lead to higher energy costs for American consumers, as well as undermine the efforts to reduce our nation's dependence on Middle East oil and strengthen national security."

2 Comments:

At 3/29/2007 5:57 PM, Blogger rrenaud said...

"They also stopped exploring for domestic oil, because there was no incentive for them to continue new exploration because government would take an increased share of profits."

How about a little thought experiment.

Rob is going to give a $10 payment to a certain professor in Rob's own self interest to make PhDs in economics not commit gross and simple logical fallacies. The government is going to take $1 of this transaction, so the illogical professor only makes $9.

A year later, the government increases the tax on payemnts to PhDs so they don't make gross and simple logical fallacies to 20%. However, now PhDs reject this transaction, because the government would take an increased share of profits. He is then free to write bogus articles on tax policy to newspapers.

 
At 3/29/2007 8:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

rob:
when did you stop taking drugs?

 

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