Chuck Schumer, the senior Senator from New York, has been a vocal proponent of the windfall profits tax. In fact, Schumer was co-sponsor of the bill that was defeated this week in the Senate. Schumer’s rationale for the windfall profits tax was pretty straight forward:
"Oil companies are wracking up obscene profits while American families are stretched to the limit by skyrocketing gas prices," Schumer said. "It’s not asking too much to redirect a portion of these companies’ windfalls to rebuilding our roads, bridges, and tunnels that are in serious need of repair."
Schumer actually believes that some level of profit is unwarranted.
Interestingly, a year earlier, Schumer had a different perspective about obscene profits. In 2007, Schumer stood in the way of a windfall profits tax on investment fund executives who reaped enormous incomes.
From the NY Times:
But there is another way Mr. Schumer has been busy with hedge fund and private equity managers, an important part of his constituency in New York. He has been reassuring them that he will resist an effort led by members of his own party to single out the industry with a plan that would more than double the taxes on the enormous profits reaped by its executives.
Schumer’s hypocrisy is not noteworthy. What is noteworthy is the advice he was giving his Democrat colleagues when they wanted to increase the executive’s taxes:
"Unintended consequences often occur when you do major tax work. And you have to be careful," Mr. Schumer said in the interview, held in his office just off the Senate floor.
Wow, unintended consequences! Obviously Chuckie had figured out all of the consequences of a windfall profit tax on the oil companies…or maybe there was nothing that was unintended?
But wait, the best is this…Schumer had found a way to ensure that the bill would fail. He tied other industries to the tax. Industries he knew no one would possibly look to increase taxes on:
But in his conversations with Wall Street executives about the tax proposals, Mr. Schumer said, he has told them that he would oppose a tax increase as long as it did not also apply to other industries, like energy and real estate.
So let’s recap:
A year ago, it wasn’t fair to impose a windfall profit tax on one industry
A year ago, Schumer thought that energy companies were off limits for increased taxes
In the last year, Schumer has continued to fleece Wall Street execs for contributions to the Democrats
Maybe Schumer should be planning Obama’s campaign strategy. At least Schumer’s hypocritical and self serving change in position over the past year is change we can believe in!
