Wake up call on Oil..

So, some members of our government have decided to wake up... Have they? Or are they looking to just shake down the oil companies while looking like they care about the little guy?

USA Today reports:

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said on CNN's Late Edition that President Bush should call for a windfall profits tax on the oil companies' "extreme, obscene profits."

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., appearing on the same program, said a windfall profits tax is "something worth considering," as well as legislation targeting consolidation of oil companies.

Well Consider this.

Our government has forgotten the basic element that certain raw materials and minerals are "national assets" meaning enjoyed by all Americans. The fact that corporate entities are allowed to extract and market these national resources is part of the fabric of our capitalist system.

However, when market forces (and this is not necessarily a scheme by oil companies) push the prices of these resources beyond any reasonable level allowing excessive profits, it is time to remember these are resources of our people. While our people's pension system is nearly bankrupt, largely due to the pensions being dumped on the government (taxpayer) by airlines and manufacturers being hurt by high energy costs in their product or the products of the companies they sell to, it is high time we tax the exorbitant profits for the benefit of the people.

It is also important to note, Oil is not a micro circuit. What is meant is, the price of oil is not due to any ingenious technology or patented product that has human ingenuity at risk. No, oil still costs under $10 a barrel to take out of the ground in most of the world (some places under $7.00 per barrel), so to NOT tax the profits being made at $75 a barrel is to allow the companies that extract the product a right to steal from the citizens that "own" those resources by essentially forcing a tax so large no government could get away with without being overthrown... Well except the US government eh?

The UK has initiated a windfall profit on oil companies because they understand this point and their government still has the capability of functioning in the interests of its citizens and not just the corporate entities that pay for their representation.