Oil Prices Leave Congress on Empty
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Oil company executives are dragged before Congress time and again suffering indignities at the hands of elected officials who are more to blame for the current oil prices and pending shortages than the industry titans that have consistently delivered this complex product for more than a hundred years with the exception of 1973 when the Arab Oil Embargo sent a delicate delivery system into disarray. Exxon-Mobil, British Petroleum, Shell Oil and others are threatened by the legislators with excess profits taxes on profits that, while staggering by their numbers, are hardly excessive representing eleven percent or less on investment over the last five years. They are more than willing to invest these profits developing new domestic supplies and refineries to process petroleum products were it not for the restrictions imposed by the pompous interrogators who cast a shadow of wrong doing but never issue an indictment for their acts. (more…)