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Re: OT: Politics [Was:Social Contract]



Matthias Julius wrote:
> Steve Lamb <grey@dmiyu.org> writes:
> 
> 
>>Cybe R. Wizard wrote:
>>
>>>US $9,900,000,000 (billion) profits /by one oil company/ in one
>>>quarter when retail prices were skyrocketing.  Does that seem like the
>>>oil cartel has the American interests at heart?
>>
>>    Didn't I address just this in a message 2 days ago?  I make a widget for
>>$1, sell it for $1.10, make $.10 and everything's ok.  I make 2 trillion
>>widgets for $1, sell them for $1.10, make 20 billion and there's a
>>congressional hearing into the matter even though the price per widget, my
>>profit margin, never changed.
> 
> 
> The situation is a little be different here.  They're not suddenly
> selling 2 trillion widgets instead of one.  They are selling each one
> of them for $1.50 instead of $1.10.  And why do they need special tax
> breaks when they seem to do well?
> 

However:

- they are selling more than before
- it is costing *more* to get the oil out of the ground
- we give them tax breaks because we want the companies to keep as much
of their business within our borders as possible

Please understand, tax breaks (unless they are done in a completely
brain dead way) almost always result in a net *benefit* to the economy.
 Besides, why are you against them raising prices?  If the market will
bear it, they are free to do so.  If you go to auction and someone
outbids you, are you upset becuase you are not willing to pay as much as
the other guy?

-Roberto

-- 
Roberto C. Sanchez
http://familiasanchez.net/~roberto

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