By Alex Mills
September 5, 2019
The oil industry has been through some tough times during the last four decades, but recent allegations that fossil fuels are linked to environmental catastrophes, and the lack of fiscal performance have oil companies facing a new storm the size of Hurricane Dorian.
Politicians expressed outrage in the 1970s when prices rose alleging oil companies were making “obscene profits.” Washington imposed the crude oil “windfall profits tax.” Later President Clinton proposed and Congress almost passed a tax on the energy content of oil known as the Btu tax, and President Obama proposed a cap-and-trade law on oil production, which passed the House but narrowly failed in the Senate. All of these issues were designed to increase the cost of oil.
Most of the 20-some Democratic candidates for President have proposed some form of restrictions, reductions, or total ban on oil in the future. Senator Bernie Sanders, who is within the top three contenders in many polls, has the most outrageous ideas. …