Vilifying the Wrong Profit

If you want to make some friends these days, hurl some insults at the avaricious "big oil" industries. I was talking to a friend the other day who was bemoaning the gargantuan profits being raked in by the oil companies. "Something must be done!" So the argument goes. The implication here is that the government should step in to whittle down huge oil profits with the aim of helping Mr. Jones at the pump. I understand the noble intentions behind the desire to see lower fuel prices but sicking congressional goons on the oil industry, while always popular, is not the way to go about it. Oil prices are high, not because of a shortage in supply per se, but rather because of a deficiency in the means of production. For this, you can thank the radical environmentalists in our own country who go into conniptions whenever drilling in ANWAR is mentioned. We can also thank the misguided (and in one case deranged) leaders of nations like Venezuela, Mexico and Norway who, following the socialist model, are nationalizing their oil reserves, resulting in the expulsion of private companies.

Incidentally, how many trillions of dollars does the government siphon off from the American taxpayer each year? This is by far the more scandalous sum, a trillion-plus figure that makes oil profits look like chump change. Congressional Democrats, populists who have refined the skill of pandering to an art form, gain ample mileage on their political careers by threatening to go after oil profits on behalf of the little guy. What is needed is some soul-searching and fiscal responsibility on their part. Why not start by going after the government's profits? Leave industries and the market alone.