In a new article for The Guardian, Gregor Semieniuk (public policy and economics) and Isabella Weber (economics) discuss how the American elite will benefit from the oil and gas shock resulting from the Iran war and what policies can be implemented to redistribute gains and prevent profiteering. In the piece, titled "We can tell you who will really get rich from this oil crisis – and how we can stop them," Semieniuk and Weber use their groundbreaking research into the 2022 oil crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a model for how the current Iran war-incited fossil fuel shock will play out in terms of profiteering. According to their research on the 2022 crisis, not only did 50% of profits go to the wealthiest 1% of individuals in the United States, but the inflationary pressures of the crisis impacted the poorest households more significantly. To help combat this profiteering, Semieniuk and Weber argue for a simple policy solution: "a permanent excess profit tax on oil and gas."
Gregor Semieniuk and Isabella Weber in The Guardian: We know who profits from a oil crisis, and how to stop them
