Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Quote of the Day II: Political Rhetoric vs. Facts

Then there are the famous "obscene" profits of oil companies. Again, there is no definition and no criterion by which you could tell obscene profits from PG-13 profits or profits rated G.

There is not the slightest interest in how large the investments are that produced those profits. Relative to the vast investments involved, oil company profits do not begin to approach the rate of return received by someone who bought a house in California ten years ago and sells it today.

Oil company executives make big bucks incomes, almost as much as movie stars who are never criticized for "greed." And if Big Oil CEOs worked for nothing, it is unlikely to be enough to bring the price of a gallon of gas down by a nickel.

But facts are not nearly as exciting as rhetoric -- and the role of most political rhetoric is to be a substitute for facts.

~Thomas Sowell, A War of Words Part II

2 Comments:

At 5/30/2007 1:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I remember price controls and gas shortages in the 1970s. I would rather pay $3.50 or $4.00 per gallon and be able to get all the gas I am willing to pay for than pay $3.00 a gallon and wait in line for a 10 gallon ration.

Is there any way to force oil companies to sell gasoline if they don't want to? Until that problem is figured out, price controls cannot work.

 
At 5/31/2007 5:45 AM, Blogger juandos said...

walt g. says: "Is there any way to force oil companies to sell gasoline if they don't want to? Until that problem is figured out, price controls cannot work"

Hmmm, I got a better idea, why not get the government to drop some of the taxes on gasoline and other crude oil products?

After all the government's take on a gallon of gasoline is quite a bit more than what the oil companies make...

Maybe the government can dump yet another expensive and idiotic idea, the multiple blends of gasoline...

 

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