Why did the Republicans block the Dems iniative for windfall taxes on Big Oil companies profits?
This is not about oil companies but about whether markets or politics should determine economic rewards. Once one accepts the principle that reward must be proportional to effort or investment, one opens the door to all manner of confiscatory mischief. Many individuals and firms—not just oil companies—reap extraordinary profits in a capitalist economy. These include inventors, authors, and Hollywood moviemakers. The patents and copyrights they hold “create monopoly rights which can produce monopoly rents which, by definition, are abnormal profits.” If the patent or copyright holders are lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, they may get very rich. Of course, most risk-takers bomb several times before they succeed. But that is the point. Without the prospect of an occasional bonanza to make the risks worth taking, far fewer people would invent new products, write books, or make movies. Housing markets exhibit capitalism, risk-reward nexus in spades. People who buy hom
