y
They already are. Companies that are forced by the government to spend on whatever. Don't just take the hit, they pass those additional cost on down to the consumer. At the same time, the higher bills also mean more tax revenues. It's a win for the power company, it's a win for the government at all levels. My town has a surcharge on electric. They also passed local legislation that requires everyone in the town to buy/purchase their power from abc electric. The justification is the % of power abc generates from renewables. End result is higher electric bills for everyone, higher bills means higher taxes collected. With electric, there is federal, states, and local taxes/fee's whatever. So everyone wins except, the people.
marsel_duchamp
Businesses in a capitalist economy have the right to price their product at whatever level they like. It is usually as high as will maximize profit. It is also why regulation by the government is necessary to prevent monopolies and socialization of the costs while the profits are privatized.
The Oracle of Omigod
How would that punish the government? And how do the gas taxes being raised enter into this discussion? Supply and demand, supply and demand. When the government punishes petroleum refining and stops construction of pipelines it makes the price of petroleum higher of course.
?
We should raise gas taxes in order for people to use energy from clean energy sources.