Democrats Vote to Raise the Price of Gasoline, Kill Retirement Funds

House Democrats voted yesterday to rescind $18 billion in tax cuts to the domestic oil industry, saying that they are transferring the tax breaks over to the renewable energy industry. As the House was prepared to extend the tax breaks for alternative energy anyway, this is primarily a punitive measure against the oil companies, who collectively made approximately $123 billion in profits last year.

Very populist, and very wrong. Even Democrats such as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland admits that this move won't bring prices down. I'd go even further - the added costs will be passed directly to the consumer, and will actually encourage higher dependence of the importation of foreign oil. As for the rhetoric about so-called "obscene" profits of the oil industry - those profits represent about a 9.3% net income after taxes and expenses. Ask any business owner, even a small one - that's a good profit margin, but not an obscene one. Furthermore, much of that profit is paid out in dividends to shareholders - that's people like you and me.

Speaking of shareholders, profits are what makes the prices of stocks in the oil industry go up. Today, retirement is not paid for by Social Security benefits, but by retirement and pension plans. Guess what those funds invest in in order to pay retirees their benefits? Stocks like oil company stocks! So any action taken by Congress to punitively punish the oil industry eventually punishes all of us in the pocketbook - be it via higher gasoline prices or reduced shareholder equity.

Funny that no news outlet is pointing this out...