Total as an Oil Robin Hood? A call for big oil company profits to go back to the people
Ségolène Royal (left) was the Socialist candidate who lost the French Presidential election and is currently the president of the Poitou-Charentes region. She said last weekend that Total, the big French oil company whose CEO thinks gas is cheap, should give back part of its profits to the people. Her idea is to have the company investing up to 80 percent of those profits in renewable energies. She said that this would help France be ready for the post-oil era. In addition, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (right), who also belongs to the Socialist Party, added that, "Oil companies' profits should be heavily taxed because they're earning a lot of money during a terrible crisis."
While the current French government claimed that Ms. Royal was "exaggerating as usual," Total is, indeed, helping France. Total has given between €140 and 200 million to the French government in January and will likely give some more this summer.
[Source: Libération]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
stevefazek 7:52PM (6/09/2008)
We need every western country to donate spend 10% of its GDP developing fusion new wind wave and other sources of power. Just the US developed the nuke in 5 years for at a cost adjusted for inflation of 300 billion dollars. The Apollo program adjusted cost 163 billion. its not wanting to spend but we need too
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Throwback 8:37PM (6/09/2008)
Who exactly are we "giving" this money to?
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stevefazek 8:55PM (6/09/2008)
in france? Prolly unemployed Moroccan teenagers
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Joseph 2:41AM (6/10/2008)
80 PERCENT???
Is she for real? A company giving away 80% of their profit?
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texmln 12:30AM (6/10/2008)
Maybe our Commie friend missed it but, being a publicly traded company, Total S.A. already has pledged 100% of its profits back to 'the people', namely its shareholders. It should warm her bleeding heart to know that ANYBODY can become a shareholder for about the price of a tank of gas.
So yeah, let's 'heavily tax' the oil companies to give them a disincentive to produce more oil and drive up the cost of fuel even more. No country ever taxed itself to prosperity.
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Scatter 4:27AM (6/10/2008)
Yes won't everyone please think of those poor shareholders. Give the money to them! I've heard that with the credit crunch, some of them are so poor that they can't even afford to take a third holiday this year.
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Chris 7:25AM (6/10/2008)
Yeah, take the money from people's retirements and vilify the oil company. Talk about a win win situation for a politician, seems to be what they are trying to work out in the US today.
Ignorance, gives politicians power beyond compare
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EV-1 9:04AM (6/10/2008)
#5
Even if it will destroy our common living ground,
we're hell-bent on profit !
Profit before progress !
Profit before responsibility !
Profit before anything else ! (who cares 'boout this climate hype)
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Noah 11:47AM (6/10/2008)
EV-1:
What about freedom and rights? How would you like it if the gov't took 80 percent of your earnings. Just not right. People shouldn't be responsible for you.
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Yggdrasilly 1:06PM (6/10/2008)
I think even Ms Royale knows this is a bad idea, and because it's a bad idea it will never pass. However, it's bound to be a very popular idea, and as such she'll get credit for it. Also, since the Sarkozy government will have to be the ones to say "no" to it, they'll have to take the political heat for doing so. And these reasons may be her whole intent in proposing it.
Which is how politics works; nobody ever said it was efficient or pretty or nice.
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