More Liberal Hand Wringing...
1. Look,
I'm all about not following in lock step behind Obama just because he's
'our guy' but honestly, some of this shit is ridiculous:
An aide for the transition team acknowledged the policy shift
Tuesday, after a small-business group discovered the proposal -- touted
throughout much of the campaign -- had been dropped from the incoming
administration's Web site.
To which David Sirota responds:
Between this move and the move to wait to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, it seems like the Obama team is buying into the right-wing frame that raising any taxes - even those on the richest citizens and wealthiest corporations - is bad for the economy. Of course, that frame is debunked by history. And while sure, it's OK to rack up deficits so as to spend our way out of the economic crisis, it's sorta silly to ignore the tax moves that could be implemented to limit those deficits where possible.
Oh, and one last thing - if oil prices are down and oil industry profits are truly down, what's the harm in passing a windfall profits tax? Even if you buy the right-wing nonsense about a windfall profits tax "hurting the industry" or "hurting the economy" when it is applied, if there really are no windfall profits to tax, then it won't be applied.
Let me get this straight... oil prices are down but we should pass a windfall tax anyway? How does that make any sense?
Look, I like sticking it to the Man (in this case 'Big Oil') as much as
the next guy, but there's no point in passing a windfall tax anymore.
In August, we were paying over $3.50 for gas... now the national
average is almost below $2.00 a gallon. I don't think Obama is caving
in to right-wing bullshit so much as just adapting to the situation.
Isn't that what we want? The last guy, the 'Decider' promised to 'stay
the course' even when it was obvious that shit was going south.
I ask... what's the point of imposing something that at this point
shouldn't be there? Sarah had a windfall tax up in Alaska because in
some places, people were paying near $8.00 dollars a gallon... that
makes sense. If gas was where it was in August, and Obama backed away
from the windfall tax, I could see the argument. In this case, I
feel like enacting a windfall tax where there's little windfall is just
playing politics.
Sure, Big Oil, makes a shit load of money... no one is denying that.
But a windfall tax at the current prices is a Pyrrhic victory because
all Big Oil would do is make us pay for it. Moreover, the best way we
can minimize their influence over us is to change the game; if we bust
our ass to make our country as green as possible, Big Oil will have no
other choice but to adapt or risk schlepping their ass to Washington
with their hands out.
Look... I know it's been a long eight years and as I said, it's
important that we don't just close our eyes and wait for things to
happen. But if what started this election cycle is going to have any
sort of longevity, we have to learn to pick our battles carefully as
opposed to swinging at every single thing that comes across the plate.
Seriously guys... chill the fuck out.
