OAKLAND, Calif. -- California is making it mandatory for cars to be labeled with global warming scores, figures that take into account emissions from vehicle use and fuel production. And this helps our international competetiveness precisely how? The Green Gestapo--destroying personal liberty by virtue of myth. Sounds like a cult.
The law requiring the labels goes into effect at the start of next year for all 2009 model cars, though its expected the labels will be popping up on cars in the coming months. So then buying a used car would be better for the environment because there is no environmental cost to produce it. It saves the raw materials and energy necessary to build a new one
The labeling law forces cars for sale to display a global warming score, on a scale of one to 10, which is based on how vehicles in the same model year compare to one another. The higher the score, the cleaner a car is. The score takes into account emissions related to production of fuel for each vehicle as well as the direct emissions from vehicles. How about the emissions produced to make the car?
The score will be displayed next to the already-required smog score, which also rates cars one to 10 for how many smog-forming emissions they emit. For both scores, an average vehicle will have a score of five.
California is the first state of pass such as law, and a similar law will take effect in New York for 2010 model year vehicles. Global warming scores will be included on the state's DriveClean website.
While this law is intended to help consumers take into account emissions while purchasing cars, a proposed law in the European Union would require E.U. public sector bodies put a price on emissions. That's coming next here.
A law endorsed by the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety would make governments put a monetary cost on the emissions of vehicles they plan to purchase, and add that to expense calculations. The law would exclude certain types of vehicles, such as ambulances and fire trucks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/07/2008 15:48 ||
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#1
Yep. Those cars that emit the most CO2 should be paid the most subsidy. After all they are feeding plants the most! This externality from farmers should be taxed for the benefit of the drivers of vehicles.
#2
Our family has a 1972 Malibu with a built-up small bock, 850 cfm carb, Flow-Tech headers and 3" dual exhaust. We also have a 1985 1-Ton 'Dually' with a 512 Big Block, Hooker headers, double-twin 2-1/2" exhaust and 800 cfm carb. Both can do the 1/4 in around 12-13 seconds (or a bit under for the '72 - yes, it has a 'cage'). We can drive both on the streets legally.
These would be 'negative score' vehicles. CO2 subsidies would do us rather well.
(Yes, on a 'run' you can see the fuel gauge move)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/07/2008 20:43 Comments ||
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The labeling law forces cars for sale to display a global warming score
This will be funny as hell during the coming mini ice age.
(Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean opposition MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai snubbed mediation efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki when he, at the last minute, failed to turn up for a meeting at Zimbabwe House, where he was scheduled to meet President Mugabe on Saturday, The Sunday Mail reported. This was despite the fact that Tsvangirai had, on about four occasions, asked Mbeki to facilitate a meeting between him and Mugabe and had given assurance to the SA leader that he would attend Saturday's meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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I feel a tragic auto accident or weather related plane crash approaching for this lad.
Shell was considering pulling out of Zimbabwe last night (JULY5) amid claims that President Robert Mugabe was reserving the distribution of fuel at petrol pumps for party supporters. A source at the oil giant said it was looking at a plan to halt activities in the country, which are overseen in a joint deal with BP. One option being canvassed is for Shell to sell its stake to a third party. Meanwhile both the UN Security Council and the European Union are drafting tougher sanctions aimed at members of the regime and their families, but probably stopping short of wider economic sanctions that some British politicians and Zimbabweans are calling for.
Shell and BP supply 74 independent petrol stations in Zimbabwe. Supplies are piped from Mozambique and stored at four oil terminals. Both companies have bitter memories of the hostility they drew during the apartheid era in South Africa and minority rule in Rhodesia.
The political instability since last month's rigged presidential election was one factor under consideration by Shell, the source said. 'We have withdrawn from countries in the past where the situation was delicate,' he said. 'We are actively looking for a new solution.'
In a statement, Shell said: 'We have a shareholding in a small retail joint venture which is operated by BP. We are currently reviewing our position.' BP said it had no plans to withdraw.
Tino Bere, a member of the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights group, said that fuel imports - controlled by Mugabe loyalists - should be targeted. 'Access to fuel imported by the state is reserved for members of Zanu-PF,' he said. 'The majority of people won't suffer. They can get what they need on the black market.'
Shell would become the fourth company to pull out of Zimbabwe in the past fortnight. The British supermarket chain Tesco announced last week that it would stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe as long as the political crisis persisted. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, promised that London transport system's automatic Oyster payment card supplier EDS would not renew its contract with the Munich-based company Giesecke & Devrient, after it emerged that the company provides banknotes to Zimbabwe's central bank. The communications company WPP said it would divest its quarter stake in Y&R advertising agency since it emerged that a senior member of the company's management was advising Mugabe.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
If they pull out the Chinese Communists will be running the entire operation with in a few short days.
#2
Let the Chicoms have it. When they have enough maybe they'll institute a "clean sweep". They always seem to need several hundred technical advisors when they move in. They know the right techniques to apply if there's any mischief around their holdings.
#3
Zimbabwe remains one of the richest repositories of strategic mineral ores (platinum, chromium, etc.) in the world; one really does not want China having exclusive access to them. In fact, I would be surprised if China was not behind a great deal of the turmoil there with the intention of getting the world to give up and hand them the 'mess'.
Posted by: Menhaden S ||
07/07/2008 13:04 Comments ||
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Indeed, which is why they insisted on being allowed to deliver those arms to ZimBob.
South African President Thabo Mbeki met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday to try to help end a political crisis after a violent election that extended Mugabe's 28-year rule.
The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had declined to meet Mbeki, who has tried to mediate between the two sides.
Tsvangirai and his MDC have criticised Mbeki's mediation efforts, accusing him of siding with Mugabe and have asked the African Union to send an envoy to help with the talks.
Reasonable accusation since Bob and the South African ruling clique have been best friends forever ...
Mugabe, in power since 1980, says he supports Mbeki's role in the mediation but has remained defiant in the face of growing condemnation from Western governments and even African neighbours after his disputed re-election on June 27.
'It is the view of the facilitators and the Zimbabwean leadership that we need to move with speed,' Mbeki told reporters after a brief meeting with Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a breakaway faction of the MDC. 'We agreed that MDC Tsvangirai has to be part of the negotiations, so we are hoping that the process will take place with them.'
Mugabe said on Friday the MDC must drop its claim to power and accept he was the rightful head of state. He said Zimbabwe's crisis, which has ruined the economy and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states, must be settled internally.
A spokesman for Tsvangirai's MDC, Nelson Chamisa, said the party was 'mandated to negotiate under the resolutions of the Africa Union and the Southern Africa Development Community ... on the basis that there is accountability (and) transparency.'
'If we were meeting Mugabe as head of (the ruling party) ZANU-PF no problem but not as head of state because we would have endorsed him but you know that his position is in dispute,' Chimasa said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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He said Zimbabwe's crisis, which has ruined the economy and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states, must be settled internally.
Couldn't agree with the old bugger more. Since that is where it began, that is precisely where the solutions should be found.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Sunday called on the international community to unite in condemning the re-election of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and said the opposition should now come to power. Miliband, who is in South Africa for talks with the government, visited a church in Johannesburg that houses thousands of refugees from neighbouring Zimbabwe, and said the world had to act together to end their hardships.
'No one who meets the people here could do anything other than redouble their efforts to secure international consensus that the Mugabe regime is not a legitimate representation of the will of the people of Zimbabwe,' Miliband said on Radio 702. 'It is imperative that a government be formed with respect to the 29th of March result because this is now a crisis and it's affecting the whole of southern Africa,' Miliband said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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In December of 1966 France abstained from voting on a similar UN resolution against the struggling Ian Smitih government, but for a different reason: in the opinion of General de Gaulle, "Rhodesia is strictly a British problem and outside U.N. jurisdiction." I still agree with the old General.
Last week I communicated to Senator Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the United States Senate Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President.
Marc Ambinder asks a good question. Nobody actually refuses a Vice Presidential nomination so why issue this statement? Is Webb trying to save face after finding out he was not on the short list?
Did Obama after deciding not to pick Webb counsel Webb to make this statement to counteract criticism that might have followed him passing over such an obvious choice?
Why did this decision have to be made public? Obama's problem’s with Appalachian voters are well documented. Webb's presence on the ticket would have gone a long way towards assuaging the fears of the "cracker" vote. There is no candidate I can think of who could have accomplished this quite like Webb.
This statement, at this time, is very, very curious.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/07/2008 18:57 ||
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#1
I wonder if this is only paving the way for Webb to finally acquiesce to being the Veep Candidate.
Kind of like Augustus being Emperor.
Anyone know what Brian Blessed's schedule is these days?
#3
I thought that the color orange was against the dnc rules.
And yup, he thinks himself too good for what dean and co. put together for the democrats. How much you suppose it will cost to rent Invesco then clean it up afterwards - pretty thrifty there mister, must be somebody else's money huh? Gonna follow the same food rules there bub?
#9
It won't be the first time a presidential candidate has accepted the nomination in a stadium. On July 15, 1960, John F. Kennedy gave his acceptance speech before tens of thousands at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
#11
Only the true believers will be on field, but the parking lots will be prime territory for the Recreate '68 crew. Lots of good camera angles and telephoto ops.
#12
Once more the stadium rocking with cheers. Once more the torchlight parade.
Away with the cowering dog-bitten years, away with the humble charade!
A thousand years, the tears of the weak for our wine.
A thousand years, we'll pluck them like fruit from the vine.
Ah, they fed us and clothed us and handed us weapons of wealth,
But give us a leader, we'll follow him down into Hell!
Posted by: bruce ||
07/07/2008 18:48 Comments ||
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AHAH, I've got it now
O'Bama is killed in the rioting, Hillary is the only choice left, and all Dems fall in line and vote for her
Wonder who's doing the assanation teams Veting.
DIABOLICAL
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/07/2008 20:46 Comments ||
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Why do I have a vision of an entire stadium pumping their fists in the air in time with the constant chant of "Obama! Obama! Obama!"
Posted by: Charles ||
07/07/2008 20:47 Comments ||
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#16
FOX NEWS > CAVUTO Show > LYNN DE ROTHSCHILD has set up an anti-Obama website in support of HILLARY + supporters. Claimed that Hillary's suppors must and should be heard becuz Barack did not win either the popular vote e.g. FLORIDA, nor has the most super-delegates???
HMMMMM, ROTHCHILDS, MELLONS, VANDERBILTS, + ROCKEFELLERS, etc.
PARIS HILTON + MARRIOTTS say of HILLARY + BARACK???
#17
Why do I have a vision of an entire stadium pumping their fists in the air in time with the constant chant of "Obama! Obama! Obama!"
Massive stadium rally of true believers - Check.
Proposes "Youth Corp" for "Service" - Check.
Going to give speech in Berlin - Check.
I guess we all know what comes next. Heil Obama!
Posted by: Steve ||
07/07/2008 21:17 Comments ||
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#18
#16 Why do I have a vision of an entire stadium pumping their fists in the air in time with the constant chant of 'Obama! Obama! Obama!'
Posted by Charles 2008-07-07 20:47|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
#7
My kids have to do X number of service hours per year as a school requirement. At their private, Catholic school which I voluntarily send them to.
Not quite the same thing.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/07/2008 12:47 Comments ||
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#8
Unfortunately, "service" is often just a misnomer for liberal causes. Do your "service" by working for an environmental group or some commie community group. This is just another way to indoctrinate the yoots.
#12
So when I'm President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you'll have done 17 weeks of service.
Wahahhahahaha...he'll get no inner-city "youth vote" with this plan.
#13
Those utes don't vote. They're sorta like 2/3rd of a free man. I find it so interesting when they pick on the one group that can't vote. If the efforts are so 'noble' why aren't adults, who've never done any public service, being tagged too? Free labor, no cost, because the state owns you and you work for the state. Or as someone right up Obama's political alley would say - from each according to his abilities, to each according to his need.
PATNA - The Indian Railways have decided to accept madrassa degrees as valid for its job requirement, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said here yesterday.
"Now students of madrassas, like any educational institution, will be able apply for jobs in the railways," Lalu Prasad told IANS by phone. "All the necessary official formalities in this regard will be finalised soon by the railways," Lalu Prasad said.
Brilliant, simply brilliant ...
The move is seen as part of Lalu Prasad's political strategy ahead of the parliamentary elections to woo Muslim voters. Last year acting on the Rajinder Sachar Committee recommendations, the government issued directives to all ministries to improve participation of minorities in government jobs.
Early this year, the minister promised to increase the percentage of Muslim employees in the railways. But a latest report of a review meeting of the group of secretaries of central government last month found the railways were still lagging in recruitment of Muslims.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Mo wrote a a chapter on railroad ops? Who knew?
#2
They've had colossal railway disasters there forever. It will be hard (but not impossible) to blame the next ones on "scholars" who can't read but have memorized a stupid arab "book" by rote...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/07/2008 12:37 Comments ||
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#3
"Ahmed is just as good as anyone else, even if he is an ignoramus who can only quote the hadiths in any given situation!"
#5
Trouble ahead, lady in red,
Take my advice youd be better off dead.
Switchmans sleeping, train hundred and two is
On the wrong track and headed for you.
Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey jones is ready, watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed Husam Duwayit's mind.
Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
Got two good eyes but you still dont see.
Come round the bend, you know its the end,
The fireman screams and the engine just gleams...
Pic of daddy at the link. Looks like a fun guy...
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. A Clayton County man was behind bars Sunday, accused of killing his own daughter. Police said the father was angry because he felt his daughter was disgracing the family. Investigators said 54-year-old Chaudhry Rashad was so outraged at his daughter, Sandela Kanwal, and her plans for divorce that he killed her after a heated argument at the family's home. Investigators said Rashad confessed to strangling the 25-year-old woman. Gonna have to give the dowry back, Chaudry?
The family is very upset and stressed," said Shahid Malik of the Pakistani American Community of Atlanta. As they always are...
Malik met with the family Sunday and said they were all traumatized. ...and they're upset. And stressed too.
Neighbors said the family was generally quiet, but also hard to miss. "I would see the young lady outside every once in a while dressed in the traditional Muslim gear," said neighbor Jack Hannah."The father, he would pray at certain times of the mornings and evenings," said neighbor Cynthia Smith. He was a pious man...
Rashad was taken to the Clayton County jail. Police said they interviewed Rashad and he said he killed his daughter as a matter of honor, because he felt her plans for divorce would have disgraced the family. So. Can I go now?
"She was under depression too and the father was very stressed and under depression," said Malik. Ah, yes. The "depression". Certainly, he can't be blamed...
Police said the victim had been in an arranged marriage and hadn't seen her husband, who lives in Chicago, for months. Malik said arranged marriages are not uncommon for Pakistanis. He said the marriages are usually accepted and successful, although young people living in American might develop problems with them. "Their minds are changed when they live here due to this system," said Malik. Friggin infidels corrupting their minds no doubt...
#3
If muslim fathers were truly concerned with family honor they would take the Samurai warrior path and kill themselves since it's their own paternal failures that lead to the "dishonor".
Becase 1st degree murder of your daughter is so honorable (I believe that if the murderer is going to quote a cultural belief as a motive to kill then it was something thought about and threatened, not a 'in the heat of emotion' situation).
#5
...and after 20 years of failed appeals, he gets his lethal injection, and goes to see his virgins... Unless Anthony Kennedy delays his death, and Chaudhry has to wait for natural causes to set in... But, being he is 54, it's 50-50 anyways which will happen first...
A lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin couple against their mortgage lender could have major implications for banks should a U.S. appeals court agree that borrowers can cancel their loans en masse when their lenders violate a federal lending disclosure law.
The case began like hundreds of others filed since the U.S. housing boom spawned a rise in sales of adjustable rate loans. Susan and Bryan Andrews of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, claimed that lender Chevy Chase Bank FSB had hidden the true terms of what they believed was a good deal on a low-interest loan.
In their 2005 lawsuit, the couple said the loan's interest rate had more than doubled by their second monthly payment from the 1.95 percent rate they thought was locked in for five years. The interest rate rose well above the 5.75 percent fixed-rate loan they had refinanced to pay their children's college tuition.
The Andrews filed the case seeking class action status; and in early 2007, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled that the bank had violated the Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, and that thousands of other Chevy Chase borrowers could join them as plaintiffs. The judge transformed the case from a run-of-the-mill class action to a potential nightmare for the U.S. banking industry by also finding that the borrowers could force the bank to cancel, or rescind, their loans. That decision was stayed pending an appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to rule any day.
Should the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agree with Judge Adelman, banking industry associations predict 'confusion and market disruption' as banks curtail lending further. Both sides said the case will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
#1
Well, if the banks violated a term of the contract, they contract is void. I think a lot of shady deals were cut during the boom and the bad lenders are scrambling to make up their losses.
The mortgage industry is badly needing of oversight and consistent laws for going over state lines. There are several companies that have offices in states with lax lending laws and loan to other states. The point being, the state where the money goes is what laws are enforced. This is one time where federal regulation needs to be clamped down, since it is interstate commerce and funds cross state lines.
#2
Well, if the banks violated a term of the contract, they contract is void.
Rarely will violating one term negate an entire contract.
Second, it appears that what we are looking at here is a violation of law, not of the contract itself.
If cancelling a loan means not paying back the principal, then that seems to be a pretty harsh penalty. Broadly applied, and left to juries to decide, then a lot of banks will be going under and the entire economy will suffer, not just the banking industry.
#3
Remember when people used to complain "To get a loan, you have to prove you don't need a loan..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/07/2008 12:21 Comments ||
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I ran across an article a few months ago that told about how some folks being repoed were holding the banks at bay by saying that the lenders they'd signed the contract with were no longer in existence (buyouts, mergers, etc.) and had not followed state laws in notifying the debtor and 'renegotiating' the contract. The lenders interviewed (tho not for attribution) said that if those cases were decided in favor of the debtors, you could kiss about 50% of ALL home mortages in the US goodbye.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/07/2008 13:14 Comments ||
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#5
gone are the days when a handshake meant something. Or giving your word to do something meant just that. That's what I grew up with, how did we ever get to this point.
Even with agreements in writing a person can get screwed, or companies be lied to. Part of this evolution in principles that I witnessed were while at a car dealership, the salesman leaving to let the buyers 'talk privately', all the while they had the listening devices on learning what their negotiating price would be. This done in America, not being a spy for protecting America but information used against our selves here to make that all important buck. This trend has really rotted America to it's core. Looking at money as the motivator instead of what's really important.
Breaks my heart that some of America has stooped to this type of unscrupulous behavior.
I hope we're able to weed out these unsavory characters and possibly get back some of our honor of negotiating among each other with honesty and integrity.
Without spending an arm and a leg to lawyers to argue the obvious.
Posted by: Jan ||
07/07/2008 13:59 Comments ||
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Mike,
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are on their way out(25%+ falls today), taking 80% of American Mortgages with them. This is the real START of the credit crunch.
#7
If cancelling a loan means not paying back the principal, then that seems to be a pretty harsh penalty.
Nope - won't work that way. The lender OWNS that property until the principal is paid. What might be forced is a renegotiation of the terms of the loan, or the option for the bank to reposses the property and cancel the loan.
In which case some people might want to think twice about pushing this issue.
#8
The lender OWNS that property until the principal is paid.
The lender has a lien on the property. Ownership remains with the borrower.
If the court were to rule that there is no obligation to repay the principal then they would also have to rule that the lien is unenforceable to make it effective.
#9
M. Murcek: there is a good chance that old saying could return with a vengeance in the future. The concept is now being bandied about that a universal credit collapse could happen, for governments as well as individuals.
In short this would mean an end to easy credit. Debit cards instead of credit cards, all around. 100% collateral for everybody.
Not as radical as it sounds, because low cost and easy to obtain credit with little or no collateral is a recent phenomenon, and its excesses may have ended its use for everyone.
Weirdly enough, a universal credit collapse may be managed to work somewhat like a currency devaluation. That is, just by knocking off the extra zeroes at the end, a lot if not all of the pain is avoided. Instead of 1000 Pesos, you have 1 New Peso, and it happens to everybody at the same time.
In this case, both credit and debt are shrunk to a fraction of their size, and are placed under strict rules. People still get hurt, just not as much as they would have been.
#10
lotp and DoDo, correct me if I'm wrong, but that whole "ownership" issue is a real problem regarding some of these mortgages.
Sure, it's easy to find out who does the servicing, but the mortgage itself may have been sliced and diced into heaven-only-knows how many tranches to satisfy different mortgage backed securities. Many cities have been having a devil of a time determining who really owns a certain foreclosed home because of these derivative securities when they wish to condemn properties that aren't been kept up after foreclosure.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
07/07/2008 17:59 Comments ||
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#11
Moose, the standard in banking is 200% collateral, ie value of the collateral is twice the value of the loan. Property loans are the main exception.
Property lending was a train wreck waiting to happen and it's very far from over.
#14
What kind of a kink does an interest only loan throw into the whole ownership issue?
I've always found these to be a curious lending tool, even before their disastrous effect.
#15
#11 Moose, the standard in banking is 200% collateral, ie value of the collateral is twice the value of the loan. Property loans are the main exception.
Property lending was a train wreck waiting to happen and it's very far from over. Posted by phil_b 2008-07-07 18:22|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
I suspect the worst is yet to come as well. Lending institutions are not entirely to blame however. In Georgia, carpetbaggers big housing developers have linked arms with bankers and the gummit to make.... "home ownership possible for the disadvantaged."
When it comes to the raging national debate over energy policy, reality is often in the eye of the beholder.
President Bush declares that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve will reduce the price we pay at the pump without threatening endangered Alaskan wildlife. Democrats say drilling under the Arctic tundra will have no impact on gasoline prices for at least a decade -- if ever -- and risks environmental catastrophe for what would be nothing more than a few drops in the proverbial bucket of world oil supplies.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declares that an excess-profits tax on American oil companies would recoup some of the unconscionable profits obtained through gouging consumers at the pump. Republicans respond that a replay of the ill-conceived 1980 windfall profits tax would cost Americans jobs and shift even more energy production overseas.
The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., a one-time Harvard professor, famously remarked that everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. However, political debate in America has become so polarized that it is often difficult to cut through the rhetorical clutter to separate fact from fiction, spin from reality.
'We may accent different facts and statistics,' said Sen. John Cornyn, 'but it's undeniable that unless we increase our oil supply, we are stuck with high gas prices indefinitely.'
To which Sen. Chuck Shumer, D-N.Y., has his own set of facts. 'Even as someone who supported targeted oil drilling in the East Gulf (of Mexico),' he said, 'I know you can't drill your way out of the problem.'
Try this one: Unless my math is off again, which has happened in the past, oil at $140 a barrel = $3.50 a gallon before the product is refined and distributed. (There are 40 gallons of oil in a barrel). All those profits Shell and Exxon and BP and Hess are making come from extracting the oil, not from delivering gasoline. If oil goes to $160 a barrel then the pre-refining/distribution price is a flat $4 per gallon. If the cost drops to $100/bbl then it's $2.50.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
After-market profit for the oil companies is, according to many reports I've seen and read here on Rantburg, about 10%. Comparatively, bottled water companies are rolling in profits. Why not tax them on their windfall profits? Their product is practically free for Gawd's sake and their profit margins are obscene when compared to those of oil companies.
Contrary to popular opinion, bottled water companies resource is also not unlimited or infinitely replinashable (without signifcant costs such as desalinization).
If you stick it to one, you have to stick it to everyone. That's the Democrat way. It's also the socialist and communist way.
#2
Don't forget how to 'manage' the books. It's in the overhead. When a corporation figures costs it adds overhead to every step in the process. That overhead is the operating and administration costs of the upper levels. So the deal to for the oil carries overhead. The transportation of the resource carries overhead. The refining of the resource carries overhead. The retrans to and bulk storage of carries overhead. The distribution to franchises or independent dealers carry overhead. The operation of franchises carries overhead. It's like the music business, the artist may make money on the deal but the dudes up in the hierarchy are making the big bucks by levying a percent of every part of the process. However, on the books, its just 'overhead' not 'profit'. The shareholders don't reap the overhead, just the profit side of the books, as does the taxman. Meanwhile, its good to be king CEO, the board and senior management in the overhead. Heh.
#3
FOTSGreg is right. Tax Big Water. Only problem, it is not a name that rolls off the tongue, like Big Oil does....... Let's keep looking for Big names to tax. It's the Dem way!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/07/2008 11:14 Comments ||
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#5
Fred, your math is approximately right (you actually get a few more than 40 gallons of refined product from a barrel of oil due to the 'cracking' of the heavy hydrocarbon molecules during the refining process.)
As far as the profits go, most oil production is owned by the host government, who lisences production to the oil companies under a variety of production sharing or even 'cost-plus' bases, such that if oil goes from $140 to $150 most of the increase goes to the governments and not the oil companies (the notable exception is the US). Also, costs are not even close to flat - high prices drive demand for more wells, and the supply of rigs, pipe, and skilled personnel seriously lags demand, so costs have been going up as fast or faster than oil prices in many markets.
Posted by: Menhaden S ||
07/07/2008 13:15 Comments ||
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#6
Lets not fergit to tax the VERMOUTH, etc. added on by many restaurants and other companies to their OTC water sales + systems.
#7
I think the actual figure was 43 gallons of product out of 40 gallons of oil.
Fact remains, "windfall profits" tax is on production, not on refined product. I can't recall ever hearing of a situation where taxing production caused it to increase. But then, I'm not a liberal economist, either.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/07/2008 21:24 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Shell was considering pulling out of Zimbabwe last night (JULY5) amid claims that President Robert Mugabe was reserving the distribution of fuel at petrol pumps for party supporters. A source at the oil giant said it was looking at a plan to halt activities in the country, which are overseen in a joint deal with BP. One option being canvassed is for Shell to sell its stake to a third party. Meanwhile both the UN Security Council and the European Union are drafting tougher sanctions aimed at members of the regime and their families, but probably stopping short of wider economic sanctions that some British politicians and Zimbabweans are calling for.
PATNA - The Indian Railways have decided to accept madrassa degrees as valid for its job requirement, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said here yesterday.
When it comes to the raging national debate over energy policy, reality is often in the eye of the beholder.
