Arbitrary Windfall Profits

Wall Street Journal looks at what is, and what isn’t, a windfall profit that democrats would like to tax. Of course, if you don’t want to think any deeper than “Oil companies are evil” and “corporate America is greedy,” this probably isn’t for you.

“The point is that what constitutes an abnormal profit is
entirely arbitrary. It is in the eye of the political beholder, who is usually
looking to soak some unpopular business. In other words, a windfall is nothing
more than a profit earned by a business that some politician dislikes. And a tax
on that profit is merely a form of politically motivated expropriation. . .

It's what politicians do in Venezuela, not in a free
country.”

Of course, if you don’t want to think any deeper than “Oil companies are evil” and “corporate America is greedy,” this probably isn’t for you.