Friday, April 29, 2011

Oil "Subsidies" and Stupid Liberal Petitions

I got this petition in my e-mail today:
End Big Oil Subsidies!

Some of the crap from the e-mail:

"Dear Friend,
As Americans continue to struggle with outrageous, unstable gas prices, big oil companies continue to benefit from them.
Exxon Mobil announced Thursday a first-quarter profit of $10.6 billion — a 69% increase from last year, and a number so astronomical, Exxon executives felt the need to issue defensive statements in advance.1 Also unveiling massive earnings were Shell ($6.3 billion, up 30%), ConocoPhillips ($3 billion, up 44%), and of course, BP (7.1 Billion, up 16%). In all, the five largest oil companies have reaped nearly $1 trillion in profits in the last 10 years.
But more outrageous than jaw-dropping oil company profits, is the fact that our government actually rewards these companies with even more of our money for maintaining this disastrous system — to the tune of $4 billion a year in tax credits and subsidies. It's time for that to end." 
My response:

"Big oil, such as Exxon/Mobil, Royal Dutch-Shell, BP, etc. doesn't get these subsidies!  They are specifically excluded from receiving these tax deductions for depreciation (not subsidies, actually).  Only domestic producers, not the big multinationals, get them, so naming Exxon/Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and BP is either a deliberate attempt at misdirection or an indication that you don't know what you're talking about.  I don't oppose eliminating that $4 billion in tax deductions for depreciation as long as we also eliminate the $100 billion in subsidies the green energy scammers get. 

Also, in the world oil markets, the "Big Oil" companies are very small players compared to the nationalized oil companies of Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Venezuela, and have minimal influence on oil prices.  So you're barking up the wrong tree.

The current prices of oil are caused by the same thing that is causing the price of other commodities, such as gold, silver, and cotton, to skyrocket--the weak dollar caused by the economic policies of the Obama administration.  So why not create a petition to fix the REAL problem?"