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Hands Off "Windfall" Profits
- Article from:
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Freeman
- Article date:
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July 1, 2008
- Author:
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Copyright informationCopyright Foundation for Economic Education, Incorporated Jul/Aug 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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You don't have to like the oil companies to reject the windfall-profits tax. All you have to know is that if you tax something, you'll get less of it. No one can seriously dispute this piece of common sense. That leaves the strong suspicion that the motive for the tax is punitive: those companies are making too much money, so let's take some of it away.
That's cutting off one's nose to spite one's face-bad idea, not to mention that it would require the threat of physical force to accomplish it. No self-proclaimed peace advocate should endorse policies that are backed by aggressive force.
Does anyone really think that politicians and bureaucrats would spend the money better? You don't need ...