Durbin’s approach on fuel taxes faulty

Well, well, our esteemed senior senator, Dick Durbin (D-Labor Unions), has come up with another brilliant idea. He wants to eliminate “tax breaks” for big oil. Apparently he doesn’t think the industry pays its “fair share.” After all, the big oil companies earn about 6 or 7 cents per gallon while the federal government’s take is around 18 cents per gallon. That’s before millions in federal income taxes the oil companies pay.

Let me see if I understand this proposal. Certain tax deductions that total about $4 billion a year would be phased out, thus increasing the oil company’s expenses, which of course they would never pass along to consumers. Somehow this would result in more exploration and eventually lower prices at the pump. Right.

This is just another sparkling example of how out of touch career politicians are with how markets work. But, I suppose if you get to ride around in Washington in a government owned SUV you really don’t have any personal contact with the market.

Dave Van Singel

Long Grove