Windfall Profit Tax On Apple Computers

world

Last year the Democrats in Congress tried to impose a "windfall" tax on oil company profits because of Exxon having 9 billion dollars in profits for one quarter. Now that the Democrats have control of Congress, will they try to impose a "windfall" profit tax on Apple? Apple had over 7 billion dollars in profits last quarter? Im predicting that they will try something similar to what they tried with Exxon.

jlew24asu

I think thats bullshit. windfall tax? for being too successfully? what a shame. if Apple were somehow a monopoly I would love to see some action taken. but they are by no means a monopoly

jeffbr

Thievery and punishment of success. I hope this goes nowhere, but for some reason there are plenty of people who will see no problem with this type of theft, as evidenced by the minimum wage debates we have here.

world

jlew24asu wrote:

I think thats bullshit. windfall tax? for being too successfully? what a shame. if Apple were somehow a monopoly I would love to see some action taken. but they are by no means a monopoly

Well, Exxon isnt a monopoly right? So, why not?

jlew24asu

world wrote:

Well, Exxon isnt a monopoly right? So, why not?

why not what?

sponger

jlew24asu wrote:

why not what?

He's asking why you have no problem with exxon getting a windfall tax when they are not a monopoly either. He's assuming you don't have a problem with it because you didn't say that you did.

darthvedder81

world wrote:

Last year the Democrats in Congress tried to impose a "windfall" tax on oil company profits because of Exxon having 9 billion dollars in profits for one quarter. Now that the Democrats have control of Congress, will they try to impose a "windfall" profit tax on Apple? Apple had over 7 billion dollars in profits last quarter? Im predicting that they will try something similar to what they tried with Exxon.

Al Gore is on Apple's BOD so I'm sure he'll make some calls and get them out of it.

On the other hand Democrats will tax the shit out of anything they can so who knows...

sponger

Apple isn't engaged in price-fixing with its competitors. Also, Apple didn't dump 20 million gallons of crude oil into the Alaskan sea. Further, Apple hasn't been systematically stemming the development of alternative fuels through back-alley purchases of patents and assassinations of alternative fuel scientists. And, lastly, Apple doesn't get oral sex from prominent republican politicians -only handjobs instead.

NOCODE#1

darthvedder81 wrote:

On the other hand Democrats will tax the shit out of anything they can so who knows...

thats because the worst president in the history of our country has driven this country so far in debt, that its a necessary step. brilliant plan though

jlew24asu

NOCODE#1 wrote:

thats because the worst president in the history of our country has driven this country so far in debt, that its a necessary step. brilliant plan though

it is absolutely 100% NOT a necessary step. the fact that you believe that just shows your ignorance. sorry but it does. this country makes enough money without having to milk its citizens for more. the Iraq war and hurricane katrina have accounted for a large portions of spending that hopefully will not happen next year

I find it disturbing that you find it ok for the government to raise taxes simply because you are a democrat and feel whatever they do is ok. wake up

know1

sponger wrote:

Apple isn't engaged in price-fixing with its competitors. Also, Apple didn't dump 20 million gallons of crude oil into the Alaskan sea. Further, Apple hasn't been systematically stemming the development of alternative fuels through back-alley purchases of patents and assassinations of alternative fuel scientists. And, lastly, Apple doesn't get oral sex from prominent republican politicians -only handjobs instead.

Apple isn't price fixing, huh? What do you call iTunes?

sponger

know1 wrote:

Apple isn't price fixing, huh? What do you call iTunes?

i tunes is owned by apple. In order for price-fixing to take place, several companies in the same industry must be colluding to keep prices at a constant. I'm glad you decided to quote my posts tonight. I was worried I wouldn't have anyone to repeatedly correct as though they didn't understand english.

world

NOCODE#1 wrote:

thats because the worst president in the history of our country has driven this country so far in debt, that its a necessary step. brilliant plan though

Dude, high taxes is the last thing this country needs. Our government makes a SHITLOAD of money already through taxes. You should see how much of it gets wasted. If guys like Ross Perot, Jack Welch, and Steve Jobs were able to run this country like a business and cut through all the bureaucratic bullshit. We would have a giant surplus, congressmen would be held accountable, and not a single penny would be wasted on pork. Governments are the least effecient organizations on the planet. Thats why I never think communism will work, governments suck at everything.

Collin

world wrote:

Governments are the least effecient organizations on the planet. Thats why I never think communism will work, governments suck at everything.

I think you have a rather weird view of communism.

world

Collin wrote:

I think you have a rather weird view of communism.

Doesnt the government run all businesss under communism?

jeffbr

NOCODE#1 wrote:

thats because the worst president in the history of our country has driven this country so far in debt, that its a necessary step. brilliant plan though

Please outline why this theft is a necessary step to solve the debt issue, from which apparently we'd otherwise not recover.

know1

sponger wrote:

i tunes is owned by apple. In order for price-fixing to take place, several companies in the same industry must be colluding to keep prices at a constant. I'm glad you decided to quote my posts tonight. I was worried I wouldn't have anyone to repeatedly correct as though they didn't understand english.

The same thing could be said about the oil companies.

enharmonic

Well, this is an interesting question.

I suppose that if you could look at iPod's and Mac's as a commodity that is critical to commerce...critical in a way that petrolium products are...then we might have a real apples to apples (pardon the pun) debate here.

Thing is, Apple didn't falsely elevate the costs of making iPods and hold people hostage at the Mac stores across the company the way Exxon held people hostage at the pump. If there were...say...a silicon chip cartel that controlled who got the chips, how many they could get, and how much they would cost...I could make a case for Apple gouging the consumer.

The difference here is that Apple hedged on a technology that no one thought would corner the market, and the hedge went in their favor...THIS TIME. They did the same thing 30 years ago with their closed system architecture, and IMO it cost them the battle for marketplace dominance. They speculated that the american consumer would pay more for a better machine with a better operating system. They were wrong. People wanted computers fast and cheap, and didn't really care that DOS, or MS Windows wasn't as sexy or intuitive as Mac OS.

Had the iTunes /iPod gamble tanked the way that thier initial gamble back in the late 70's did, I hazard a guess that Apple would not be the same company that it is today. They devised a way to make their higher entry PC's a legitimate contender by appealing to the entertainment, rich-media savvy consumer.

Exxon could take some of its profits and build more refineries, better, environmentally superior refineries...infrastructure that would allow them to reduce their prices in the long run, or at least keep them constant for a longer period of time, bu t they have not. They know that they have consumers by the balls, and needlessly gouged them to take advantage of the energy crisis/Katrina. That is unscrupulous, and totally American. It's the dark underbelly of the capitalist system.

If you need an artificial heart, and I am the only game in town, I can charge you 100,000 dollars for the heart. You might not be able to pay it, but the next man will. Your loved one dies, and capitalism doesn't care.
While this might sound extreme in relation to the current topic, it is nonetheless pertinent.

CorporateWhore

Windfall profit taxes don't really seem to make sense. Are you going to penalize someone for having a successful product?

Most of the people that say we are being "held hostage" by oil manufacturers don't understand the basic economics behind oil production and distribution. In the short term, yes, you have to pay high prices because you own a car that needs gas. But, you could move closer to your job, take public transportation, or work a second job. If you really don't want to pay high prices for gasoline, then you don't have to in the long term. There are many options.

If we were actually being held hostage by oil manufacturers, that would mean that the government required everyone to own a vehicle, work 100 miles away from their job, and public transportation was being shut down by the oil manufacturers.

As it stands, anyone who complains about oil prices is just a cheapskate. The fact is: if you are willing to pay it, then that is the price you should pay. If the oil companies know that they can raise prices and you will pay it, then they will. If they don't think you will pay it, they won't raise prices. What is the maximum amount of profit they can make - they is what they want to make.

The problem with people who favor oil regulation by the government is that they are opposed to the free market, when all American freedom comes from the free market. It is one of the only avenues of freedom left in this country.

world

enharmonic wrote:

Thing is, Apple didn't falsely elevate the costs of making iPods and hold people hostage at the Mac stores across the company the way Exxon held people hostage at the pump. If there were...say...a silicon chip cartel that controlled who got the chips, how many they could get, and how much they would cost...I could make a case for Apple gouging the consumer.

Exxon could take some of its profits and build more refineries, better, environmentally superior refineries...infrastructure that would allow them to reduce their prices in the long run, or at least keep them constant for a longer period of time, bu t they have not. They know that they have consumers by the balls, and needlessly gouged them to take advantage of the energy crisis/Katrina. That is unscrupulous, and totally American. It's the dark underbelly of the capitalist system.

Wait one second, bottled water is 3x more expensive then gasoline, and ice cream is 30x more expensive. Oil has to be sucked out of the ground, shipped across the world, refined into gasoline, and shipped to stations. I think its pretty cheap. Also, to say that this is "American" is implying that the United States is the only country that is unscrupulous. That is an ignorant and dumb statement. Take a look at the countries in the United Nations and their "oil-for-food" program.

sponger

know1 wrote:

The same thing could be said about the oil companies.

That's what I'm saying. Oil companies, not Apple, are engaged in price-fixing. Wow you must really enjoy being shown the obvious.