When politicians raise taxes on corporations, they pass the extra costs on to consumers.
So when the Democrats decide they want to hike up taxes on oil companies, the oil companies will pass on that extra cost to consumers.
Maybe that is what the Democrats want to do. After all, Al Gore and countless other Democratic luminaries have long said that gas prices are too low.
They want sharply higher gas prices in order to protect the environment.
That sounds good for the latte-sipping, Volvo-driving yuppies who can afford gas prices at 4 bucks a gallon.
But for taxi drivers and truckers, for soccer moms and for working-class folks, higher gas prices is bad news.
And when Democrats remove tax incentives to help oil companies find new sources of oil, and at the same time raise other taxes on energy companies as a way to “punish” them for being profitable, they are doing their darnedest to keep gas prices high for the foreseeable future.
That would be consistent with the emerging Democratic philosophy.
Raise taxes on corporations, which means raising taxes on consumers.
Sharply increase the price of all fossil fuels.
Blame the Bush White House for the impending disaster caused by their own policy decisions.
If oil companies are colluding, they should be punished for antitrust violations.
But every investigation into price-fixing has been a dry hole.
The free market works, except when the Congress tries to “fix” it.
By “fixing” it, the Democrats are actually just raising taxes on consumers and sharply increasing the cost of just getting by.