From today’s Washington Times comes more reports of the willingness of some Republican leaders to abandon even their most basic principles in return for votes.
First there’s this from Iowa Senator Charles Grassley:
Mr. Grassley’s proposal, outlined in letters to three oil and gas industry associations on Tuesday, asks energy companies to contribute 10 percent of their profits to fuel funds operated by states and utility companies that supplement the federal heating assistance program.
“In light of record profits and rising energy costs, it seems only logical for the companies to practice good corporate citizenship by helping low-income families and seniors,” said the Iowa Republican, whose state is one of many in the Midwest where heating bills are expected to rise 50 percent on average this winter.
Mr. Grassley, whose powerful committee writes tax law and oversees charitable organizations, also asked the associations for status reports on charitable giving by the energy companies.
He reminded them that they have “a responsibility to use these record profits to invest in more exploration, production and refining capacity to increase supply of petroleum products.”
Nonsense. The main responsibility that corporations have is to their shareholders, and it is the responsibility to maximize profits. Anything else is, in effect, a breach of the fiduciary duty that the officers and directors of the corporation owe to the people that actually own the company. It also ignores the fact that most major electric and gas companies already have some form of heating fuel assistance programs for the poor and elderly, usually financed by voluntary contributions from ordinary Americans.
But Mr. Grassley is a moderate compared to other members of his party.
Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, is co-authoring an amendment to the budget reconciliation bill to pay for $3 billion in federal heating assistance this winter with a tax on oil company profits. Also sponsoring the measure are Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.
“It has become perfectly clear that the big oil companies are cashing in while American families are being left to choose between food on their table and gas to drive their car or oil to heat their homes,” said Mr. Schumer.
Given the enormous revenues the oil companies amassed when crude prices topped a record $60 per barrel this summer, a tiny fraction of their profits would be needed to fund the program, he said.
As I said on Monday, one expects these sorts of things from Democrats like Schumer and Kennedy, but the Republican Party is supposed to believe in things. I’d say its depressing, but its really just par for the course.
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