Well that’ll show ’em ...

[Tigermike 3,055]

Well that’ll show ’em ...

Posted by: McQ

The Democrats have finally solved the oil price problem:

"The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.

The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.

The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto.

The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.

"This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules, instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities," said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation."

I would love to have some of what these yahoos are smoking.

Aren't these the same folks that claim we shouldn't be "imposing" democracy on anyone? And yet here they are trying to impose (and that's not going to happen, trust me) US law on an international cartel.

Yeah, that'll solve the problem, wont it?

Are you catching on yet that these morons in Congress (and elsewhere) haven't a clue about how the world works?

It seems the guy everyone hates, however, does:

"The White House opposes the bill, saying that targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards "would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries and lead to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners."

The administration said less oil going to refineries would limit available gasoline supplies and raise fuel prices."

Ya think?

Thanks Democrats.

http://www.qando.net/

House OKs Suit Against OPEC Over Prices

Measure Passes 345-72, But White House Objects, Saying It Might Disrupt Supplies

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2007

(CBS) Decrying near-record high gasoline prices, the House voted Tuesday to allow the government to sue OPEC over oil production quotas.

The White House objected, saying that might disrupt supplies and lead to even higher costs at the pump. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is the cartel that accounts for 40 percent of the world's oil production.

“We don't have to stand by and watch OPEC dictate the price of gas,” Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., the bill's chief sponsor, declared, reflecting the frustration lawmakers have felt over their inability to address people's worries about high summer fuel costs.

The measure passed 345-72. A similar bill awaits action in the Senate.

Separately, at a House hearing, lawmakers were told that crude oil prices have played a relatively minor role in the sharp increase in gasoline costs over the last three months, putting the blame on lower gasoline imports, refinery outages and continuing growth in demand from motorists.

Gasoline prices “may ease somewhat,” Guy Caruso, chief of the Energy Department's statistical agency, told the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee. But he said pressure on gas prices will remain strong “with the hurricane season approaching, continued tight refinery conditions, low gas inventories and increased demand for summer travel.”

Nevertheless, the House felt it was important to take on OPEC, whose member states last t year agreed to cut production by 1.1 million barrels a day to counter what had been a buildup of world oil stocks.

Conyers accused the OPEC engaging in a “price fixing conspiracy” that has “unfairly driven up the price” of crude oil and, in turn gasoline.

His measure would change antitrust laws so that the Justice Department can sue OPEC member countries for price-fixing, and would remove the immunity given a sovereign state against such lawsuits.

But the White House said President Bush will be advised to veto the bill should it pass Congress because such suits could spawn retaliatory measures and “lead to oil supply disruptions and an escalation in the price of gasoline, natural gas, home heating oil.” global oil production.

Lawmakers have been frustrated over their inability to counter the surge in gasoline prices that last week averaged just under $3.22 cents a gallon, within a half penny of an historically inflation-adjusted high in March, 1981.

“As politicians ... there's no other issues of greater interest to us than gasoline prices and the impact it's having on the American public,” said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., at a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the panel's chairman, told of a person in his district complaining that gas had increased 21 cents a gallon over 10 hours this past weekend.

But the latest price surge at the pump may have had little to do with OPEC oil production.

“Increased crude oil prices have played a relatively minor role in (the recent) increase in retail prices,” William Kovacic, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, told Stupak's subcommittee. He said the price of benchmark West Texas crude increased no more than 15 cents a gallon over the last three months, while retail gas prices jumped 80 cents to 90 cents a gallon, depending on location.

“Big Oil is often quick to blame world crude oil prices, but that argument doesn't appear to be the full story,” said Stupak.

“While consumers pay record prices, oil companies are making record profits,” said Stupak. Refinery profits have jumped sharply to as much as 70 cents for every gallon of gasoline produced, he said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/22/...in2840033.shtml

I am sure, either through scheming or more likely incompetance, that OPEC countries are under-supplying their potential capacity for oil production. But if we want to deem this a crime, who is the biggest criminal? The US is the only country I know of that has, by statute, made illegal the development of enormous domestic reserves. Just last week, Democracts in Congress, in fact the exact same folks sponsoring this bill, voted to continue an effective moratorium on US oil shale development. No country in the world is doing less to develop the most promising oil reserves than is the US. Congress, sue thyself. I mocked this idea weeks ago when Hillary first suggested it. If this passes, I would love to see the US counter-sued for not developing ANWR. Or large areas of the Gulf. Or most of the Pacific coast. Or all of the Atlantic coast. Or our largest-in-the-world oil shale deposits.

[Auburn85 432]

they ought to just raise the corporate income taxes strictly on oil companies by 15% and then turn around and take that tax revenue and set up a government welfare program in which a debit card will be sent out to people who are struggling to pay for gas. And the amount one gets on this debit card depends on what income bracket they are in.

The Warren Buffet's in the world will be hit with a sin tax for having the immoral nerve of becoming a billionaire. the tax won't be based on strictly a percentage, but rather enough taxation to take away his billionaire status. Thus, he'll have a maximum wage of $999,999,999.99

Jimmy Buffet will get caught in the middle of this because it may cause some to think of Warren Buffet, which will bring an unwanted depressed state or rage of anger. Jimmy will be taxed on the rate of his cd sales and concert ticket revenues.