Edwards is Going After The Oil Barons

Somebody needs to!

But speaking of Oil Barons and other CEO types, we think it's time to take a look at corporate officer salaries.

No, we are not suggesting that the government decide how much anyone can be paid, except government employees, of course.

We are suggesting that corporate officers make a hell of a lot more than any human being could possibly be worth. (Of course, so do quarterbacks, but we can always turn them off. Not so easy with Oil Barons, given our set-up here in the U.S.)

We, in the puritanical U.S, have long instituted "sin taxes" on everything from alcohol to Nicotine; essentially on behavior the government wishes to discourage. (We could tax more stuff, but we made most of it illegal, so there go the tax revenues; not the stuff. )

But as religious as we are, as a nation, we don't tax the cardinal sins or the "seven deadlies," as we call them.

One of those sins is greed.

Seems to us that greed is the Cardinal sin that is causing the most problems at the moment. So, why not tax it?

We are going to give this some thought...maybe come up with a formula for taxing greed. It shouldn't be all that difficult.

Edwards Wants Probe of Oil Firm Mergers

By RACHEL KONRAD
The Associated Press
Thursday, May 31, 2007; 6:59 PM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says a wave of mergers in the oil industry should be investigated by the Justice Department to see what impact they have had on soaring gasoline prices.

During a campaign stop in Silicon Valley Thursday, Edwards planned to berate the oil industry for "anticompetitive actions" and outline an energy plan he says would reduce oil imports "and get us on a path to be virtually petroleum-free within a generation."

"Vertically integrated companies like Exxon Mobil own every step of the production process _ from extraction to refining to sale at the pump, enabling them to foreclose competition," says an outline of Edward's energy plan.

Edwards' call for a major shift away from oil use would include, according to the document:

_ An increase of federal auto fuel economy requirements to 40 miles per gallon from the current 27.5 mpg by 2016.

_ Expansion of the use of biofuels such as ethanol, including a requirement for oil companies to make available E-85 fuel (which has 85 percent ethanol) at a quarter of their stations. Edwards wants all new cars to be able to use E-85 by 2010.

_ Mandatory restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide with an aim to cut CO2 and other greenhouse gases by 80 percent by mid-century.

_ Creation of a $13 billion energy fund from the sale of greenhouse gas permits and ending some tax breaks for the oil industry. The money would be used to support biofuels and conservation technologies.

Many of Edwards' proposals _ from cutting greenhouse gas emissions to investigating oil industry consolidation _ have been the subject of numerous hearings in Congress this years, as has calls by Democrats to make automobiles more fuel efficient.

Rival Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, also have called for expanded use of ethanol and other measures to reduce the country's reliance on oil.

But Edwards' message may resonate especially in California, the nation's most delegate-rich state, which has perennially high gasoline prices.

On Wednesday, the average regular-grade gasoline in California was $3.41 per gallon, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The national average was $3.20 per gallon, compared to $2.85 a year ago.

But Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Sacramento-based Western States Petroleum Association, said the prices reflected market rates, and an antitrust investigation would be a waste of time.

He said the industry has been the subject of more than 20 state and federal investigations over the past two decades.

© 2007 The Associated Press

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. The Lantern has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is The Lantern endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

....And The Truth Shall Set Us Free