A Windfall Popularity Tax

According to recent public-opinion surveys and in light of the primaries so far, it seems that President Carter’s popularity with the American people has increased dramatically since hostages were taken in Iran and the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. This increase in Mr. Carter’s popularity gives rise to some obvious questions of domestic policy; but such questions have, to my knowledge, been completely overlooked in recent political discourse. I confess to being somewhat perplexed as to why this should have been so.

My difficulty is that I do not understand why it is permissible for Mr. Carter to reap, as a result of the taking of American hostages in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a popularity windfall that has sent his public-approval rating soaring from 18 per cent to over 60 per cent (an outrageous increase of more than 200 per cent) when all the analysts agree that it is not permissible for American oil companies to reap an economic windfall from the increase in the world price of oil. Therefore, in the interest of fairness and equity, why does Congress not enact a Windfall Popularity Tax (WPT)?

DG

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David Glasner

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According to recent public-opinion surveys and in light of the primaries so far, it seems that President Carter’s popularity with the American people has increased dramatically since hostages were taken in Iran and the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. This increase in Mr. Carter’s popularity gives rise to some obvious questions of domestic policy; but such questions have, to my knowledge, been completely overlooked in recent political discourse. I confess to being somewhat perplexed as to why this should have been so.

My difficulty is that I do not understand why it is permissible for Mr. Carter to reap, as a result of the taking of American hostages in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a popularity windfall that has sent his public-approval rating soaring from 18 per cent to over 60 per cent (an outrageous increase of more than 200 per cent) when all the analysts agree that it is not permissible for American oil companies to reap an economic windfall from the increase in the world price of oil. Therefore, in the interest of fairness and equity, why does Congress not enact a Windfall Popularity Tax (WPT)?