ARNOLD KLING
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The Top Political Contributors
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Gender and the New Commanding Heights
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Jamie Galbraith Makes an Assumption
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Macroeconometrics: The Science of Hubris
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BRYAN CAPLAN
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The Effect of Thumb Sucking on Income
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The Theory of Time and Frittering
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Male Variance and the Remnants of the Gender Gap
DAVID HENDERSON
August 9, 2011
Hayek in "Unbroken", Part Two
August 8, 2011
Hayek in "Unbroken"
August 5, 2011
James Bovard on the Peace Corps
August 4, 2011
Summers Way Off on FDR and 1941
August 3, 2011
The "Amazon" Tax
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Why is the choice between statism or privatization?
It seems to me that the privatized oil companies would pay a certain tax per barrel of oil, or a certain tax per gallon of gas out of a refinery. This would probably result in more revenue for the government than outright ownership.
Or the government could own the company, but sub out operations to someone who knows that they're doing, Like Haliburton!
i think you're getting a little ahead of yourself because you're presupposing a government for 'the iraqi people'.
1) there may notbe a single gov't, esp if the kurds have there way; not likely
2) the oil revenue placed in trust of 'the iraqi people' is being administered by the US, not the CPA
it should be held by the oil companies who do the work of extracting the oil, not the US or 'the iraqi people'. the oil companies will then issue bonds and the proceeds distributed to every man, woman and child regardless of ethnic division.
the only problem is the oil contracts are going to US companies, which is fine (our blood, our treasure), only 'the iraqi people' may not see it that way, so pipeline infrastructure may be vulnerable. that's why as kling says, "it would help to pay government workers enough so that they can be expected to act professionally, rather than requiring bribes to supplement their income" to guard against saboteurs and terrorists still operating.
Almost all literature I find on the Issue leaves much to be desired. Iraq Oil fields possess extraction difficulties, which requires expertise in Operations. I think a simple tax per barrel of Oil would handle the finance side for the Government and people. Distribution of the Oil proceeds is another matter.
The Shitte majority will eventually attain power. They present no assurance all Iraqis will share in the Oil proceeds. Another problem is the American Oil companies, who always get the lucrative contracts under Bush. They will only entertain Oil production, with prices maintaining the Saudi/American monopoly price-setting; this practice totally independent of either Iraqi needs, or responsive to American Consumer needs. lgl