“Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said he wants to know why, with such profits, the oil industry is steadfastly fighting to keep $18 billion in tax breaks, stretched over 10 years.”
Gee, I can’t imagine why they would want to keep $18 billion of their hard-earned money??? What a conundrum!
I’d like to ask Markey why he thinks he has the right to steal $18 billion from “Big Oil.” I wish one of these executives would just give it to them good. Just tell the truth…tell it like it is!
The lawmakers expect to get votes for this demagoguery. They won’t get bored with it any more than you get bored with getting your paycheck, eating your lunch, or sleeping.
I suspect we all need to get “clueless politician” or “clueless environmentalist” or “clueless religionist” punching bags (collect them all!) to let out our frustrations.
Heh, I heard about this too on the radio a few minutes ago. Seems to be the big news in Washington today. There is a slight element of validity in the argument: That tax breaks are given to major corporations. The solution is that there should be no taxes on any current entity who pays tax, not just corporations. Unfortunately, the ‘solution’ seems to be to want to raise taxes on corporations.
You know, I’d like to see any oil company executive say something like “Very well. We’re making a lot of money and therefore we will forego the tax breaks. That is, as soon as Congress agrees to pay us a tax credit for the windfall losses we sustained during the period from 1985 to 2004, which we estimate cost us…”
The lawmakers expect to get votes for this demagoguery. They won’t get bored with it any more than you get bored with getting your paycheck, eating your lunch, or sleeping.
I suspect we all need to get “clueless politician” or “clueless environmentalist” or “clueless religionist” punching bags (collect them all!) to let out our frustrations.
And it would be good exercise, keeping us fit and helping to develop our arm muscles (leg muscles too if we do kick boxing with the bags). :dough:
You know, I’d like to see any oil company executive say something like “Very well. We’re making a lot of money and therefore we will forego the tax breaks. That is, as soon as Congress agrees to pay us a tax credit for the windfall losses we sustained during the period from 1985 to 2004, which we estimate cost us…”
Lol, congress would never agree to that, even if it cost just a few million.
So when they remove the current profitability of the oil industry for the public good, I don’t suppose the refiners are going to roll over and die. Instead they’ll just charge more for this fairly elastic commodity. So by my reckoning, the long range essentials of this circumstance amount to the fact that they will indirectly raise the price of gas to 4.50/ gallon “for the public good.” Oh the irony…
One gimmick of the mixed-economy is that the government gives all sorts of people “tax-breaks”. All homeowners who pay mortgage interest are eligible for a tax-break on that interest, all who contribute to a charity are eligible for a tax-break on that charity, people who have a home-office are eligible to get a tax-break on those expenses, companies are eligible to get tax-breaks for all sorts of reasons. So, for starters, I would question whether oil-companies get any special tax-breaks. I won’t buy it unless I see figures to show that they get something really special that other industries do not get. From the little informed opinion I’ve heard, the bulk of these tax-breaks are not oil-industry specific, but are aimed at companies who keep jobs and investment inside the U.S., something that other industries can use as well. The mixed-economy turns everyone into a victim and a “moocher” at the same time.
as soon as Congress agrees to pay us a tax credit for the windfall losses we sustained during the period from 1985 to 2004, which we estimate cost us…"
Lol, congress would never agree to that, even if it cost just a few million.
Oh, the government does do that sort of thing all the time, only not with oil companies. It’s called bailouts.