Obama's Windfall Oil Tax Falls Apart

The only silver lining that has developed economically in the past 3 months is the consistently falling oil prices due to the fear within the industry that the economy will continue to slow and global demand will fall. As of this morning October 10th, oil prices had fallen by over 40% to just under $83 per barrel. Although this is welcome news for the American Public as gas prices continue to fall to near $3/gallon in many area, the political impact is not being discussed.

Falling oil prices have essentially destroyed Senator Obama's theoretical funding for his Energy policy and should once again highlight a brutal truth about his call for a Windfall Profits Tax. Obama's energy policy is based upon 2 ideas:

#1) A $150 Billion investment in the green industry, and

#2) A $500/person energy rebate that would cost $75 billion.

In March, Obama proposed that he would pay for his $150 billion green investment through a Windfall Profits Tax. His economic advisers suggested that the tax would generate around $15 billion per year. But when oil prices spiked during the summer, Obama changed his rhetoric and began promising a $500/person energy rebate that would be paid for over a five year period by the same windfall profits tax.

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http://politicallydrunk.blogspot.com/2008/10/as-oil-prices-fall-obamas-windfall.html