The best solution to high gas prices: tax the oil companies
Patrick Gaspard discusses why Congress should enact a temporary windfall profits tax on Big Oil to ensure these companies are not profiting from Russian's war in Ukraine.
President Biden has led a successful campaign to cut Russia off from the global economy, with asset freezes, export controls and a ban on Russian oil imports. While this has had a devastating impact on the Russian economy, there’s no denying that Americans are feeling the reverberations as well.
Gas prices rose nearly 70 cents per gallon in a two-week period in the wake of the invasion. Prices at the pump have since plateaued, but they are still more than $4 per gallon. Biden has responded by announcing the release of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase supply and lower prices. The move, along with efforts from US allies overseas, will add more than one million barrels of oil per day to supply. Still, the president and Congress should go further in combating price increases. One way to do that is by enacting a temporary windfall profits tax on Big Oil and the billions of dollars the industry has been raking in.
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