$10 tax

President Obama will call for a $10 per barrel surtax on oil in his upcoming budget. One wonders about the timing of such a tax. The average price of oil during Obama’s years in office has been over $90 per barrel so why propose such a tax now when the price is $30. The companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 energy sector are expected to lose a collective $28.8 billion this calendar year, down from $95.4 billion in net income earned during the industry's bonanza year of 2008, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ. The President expects the oil companies to pass this increase on to the consumers and this will most adversely affect the low to middle income groups. The money will be allocated by the government to various programs designed to fight climate change.