From the Webb campaign, "A 97th Fact That George Allen Doesn+óGé¼Gäót Want Virginians to Know About His Record."
Fact #97As Oil Companies Fleeced Consumers By Price Gouging, Some In Congress Sided With Consumers to Make The Practice A Crime+óGé¼-ª
George Allen Sided With the Oil Companies
K Street, Washington, DC +óGé¼GÇ£ George Felix Allen routinely tells Virginia audiences one reason they should vote for him is that they +óGé¼+ôknow+óGé¼-¥ him.
Really.
+óGé¼+ôDo Virginians know that while George Allen was voting for $44 billion in unneeded tax breaks for oil and energy companies and while these companies were making billions in profits, and while consumers were paying record prices for gas at the pump, and while George Allen was being showered with $800,000 in campaign contributions from these oil and energy interests, and when Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said the Commission +óGé¼-£found price gouging at multiple levels of the petroleum industry,' George Allen was voting to defeat a bill in the Senate that would have made price gouging a Federal crime,+óGé¼-¥ Webb spokesman, Steve Jarding asked.
Gee Senator, so much for standing up for your constituents.
On November 17, 2005 while Virginians were seeing prices at the gas pump skyrocket, Sen. Maria Cantwell sponsored an Amendment which would have made +óGé¼+ôprice gouging on energy products, services or markets a federal crime.+óGé¼-¥ George Allen decided the oil companies needed more protection than his constituents, and he voted against Cantwell+óGé¼Gäós Amendment.
The problem did not go away. A study by the Federal Trade Commission published in May 2006 confirmed Cantwell+óGé¼Gäós fears on price gouging when according to Commissioner Jon Leibowitz the Commission found, +óGé¼+ôprice gouging at multiple levels of the petroleum industry.+óGé¼-¥
+óGé¼+ôIt certainly begs the question as to whom George Allen felt beholden to +óGé¼GÇ£ his beleaguered constituents who were paying record prices at the pump, or his corporate benefactors who were showering him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions while he was voting to give them record tax breaks and unbridled license to fleece the American public by price gouging with no legal ramifications. Senator, I don+óGé¼Gäót think Virginians know this about you?+óGé¼-¥ Jarding asked.
Polls show that upwards of two-thirds of all Americans feel that the unprecedented rise in gas prices has caused +óGé¼+ôfinancial hardship+óGé¼-¥ for their families. But George Allen seems not to care. Virginians on average are spending $800 a year per household more on gasoline than before Allen took office. Virginians making $15,000 or less are now spending ten percent of their total household income on gasoline. +óGé¼+ôThat is unconscionable and George Allen has to be held responsible for his shilling to the oil and energy interests as they fill his campaign pockets, while the people of the Commonwealth suffer,+óGé¼-¥ Jarding said.
+óGé¼+ôWhen George Allen took office, gas prices at the pump hovered at around $1.00 a gallon, six short years later, they have tripled. Our government watchdogs said oil companies are gouging consumers. But when given the opportunity to stop the fleecing of the his constituents, George Allen fought once again for big corporate interests who just happened to be lining his thousand dollar suit pockets with unprecedented amounts of cash. Senator, it doesn+óGé¼Gäót seem that Virginians know all they need to know about how you have sold out to special interests during your time in Washington,+óGé¼-¥ Jarding said.
If Mr. Allen's constituents know these facts, I suspect Mr. Allen's big dollars won't make any difference, they will vote for Mr. Webb come November. It's really disgusting to see how gullible Virginians have been about good ol' boy George (both of 'em). It's definitely Time for a Change.
The big problem I do have is when our politicians bend over backwards to ensure their profitability. Oil this expensive is bad for our economy, bad for our environment, and bad for national security. Think about who holds the most oil - Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Sudan, Nigeria; any of those places sound friendly to you? High oil prices empower their leaders and deny opportunities for reform.
George Allen should lose for this alone. We have to get the message out on this.
Assume the demand should be *roughly* the same as it has been in the past. Some natural increase in demand and some decrease due to higher prices should balance out.
So if these companies are roughly selling the same volume of oil as previously and they are making record profits, it means the PROFIT per unit has increased.
It's obvious that the COST per unit will increase given the increase in the cost of the raw material (oil). But what excuse do they have for making more PROFIT?
Pass the additional costs to the consumer - fine.
Add on extra profit in the process - not fine.