Pelosi-led Democrats will challenge Big Oil on tax breaks
House Democrats are drawing a bead on the oil industry's tax breaks but may put off a broader energy plan that addresses alternative energy sources. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California wants to roll back "the multibillion dollar subsidies for Big Oil." Repealing many of those benefits was talked about earlier this year as lawmakers responded to public outcry over oil profits. But it appears her first move on the energy issue will be less aggressive than her earlier pronouncements. Democrats are expected to consider price gouging legislation and propose incentives and mandates for biodiesel and ethanol.
[Source: J. Josef Hebert / Associated Press via The Columbian News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rico 11:32AM (4/29/2008)
"the numbers don't mean much"? Big oil is posting billions and billions of dollars in profits and getting 20 billion in subsidies. I'd say those numbers mean a lot. If you were a trucker ekeing out a living you'd change your tune.
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DB 8:25PM (11/19/2006)
Getting rid of subsidies to Oil sounds good. How about cutting subsidies (welfare payements) to farmers too?? I'm curious as to what this will do to the price of a gallon of gas. BTW, so called 'price gouging' is a BS term, usually put forth by people who dislike that someone else is making alot of money.
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snakesausage 10:49PM (11/19/2006)
I agree, all the talk of a windfall tax was ignorant. The only thing that needs to be done is remove oil subsidies. I cringe to hear myself say this but, "good move democrats'". (no I am not a republican, I am an anti-socialist)
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Howard Lee Harkness 9:08AM (11/20/2006)
"But it appears her first move on the energy issue will be less aggressive than her earlier pronouncements."
Looks to me like the only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that they make a slightly different-sounding noise when they talk/lie. To figure out what's going on in politics, just like in any other scam, follow the money.
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Tim 9:18AM (11/20/2006)
Watch what they do, not what they say. Get ready for "revenue enhancement" and more social programs. After all, they are smarter than us, and they are wiser too, right? They know how to better utilize our money than we do, right? That's why they are in power, right? We want them to donate our money for us, right? We did each one of us volunteer for this, right? Always follow the money. Some things never really change no matter who's "in power."
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DB 11:58AM (11/20/2006)
It's nice to see that other people who come to this blog have common sense in regards to the reality of politics. One would think that a 'green' blog would be full of anti-capitalist, granola lovers. I'm happy to see that it isn't.
Like I said earlier, I wonder what this will do to the price of gas. It will probably cause the price to go up modestly, say a few cents per gallon. If that's the case, and the subsidies to Big Oil are cut, shouldn't our taxes go down???? They should, or else the corresponding increase in gas prices will harm consumers. Or shouldn't that money be re-directed to pay off the national debt??? This will be intersesting to see what the Democrats propose. If they propose the subsidies that are cut from Big Oil go towards some sort of social program (getting us closer to a welfare state like western European countries) like Social Security, then the Democrats have lost my vote for the rest of my life. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've gone 3rd party.
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MikeW 1:48PM (11/20/2006)
Didn't Reagan once say 'Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem'
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Tim 2:54PM (11/20/2006)
Like I said, the left is simply smarter than anybody else. They know we are all too stupid to spend our (I mean their) money that we earned. They want to level the playing field so the producers and non-producers have equal incentive to be non-productive. The Right is just on the take. As far as Autobloggreen... I just don’t want to be controlled by an outside force. I hate monopolies, they increase costs and decrease quality. Harmful monopolies include Gov't Oligarchies (look it up), Energy and the Automotive Manufacturing that they own http://www.ev1.org/gmoil.htm http://internalcombustionbook.com. I want to be free. Our natural resources belong to everybody. I like clean, non-polluting nuclear energy (from the sun) or from the moon “tides”, wind or waves). I like renewable, highly efficient, carbon neutral energy that we grow ourselves like bio-diesel from algae. I want people to be here for a long time to come and I don’t want them to be controlled by an outside force either. If I must be addicted to a drug like energy, at least I should be able to make it or collect it for myself.
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loikll 5:17PM (11/20/2006)
I'd be pleased to see all subsidies for everything removed; somehow I don't think the Dems are going to do that.
Does anyone know what subsidies oil companies actually get? I've often asked, never got an answer. I hope this "subsidy" talk is not people just demagoguing about normal pre-tax business expenses.
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DB 10:41PM (11/26/2006)
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa390.pdf
It's not as significant of a subsidy as people think. The good news about that is that the subsidy cut will have a negligible effect on the price of fuel. The bad part is how much press this is getting, when the numbers don't mean much. Farmers get a hell of alot more money doled out to them than big oil does. BS programs like 'no child left behind' or the Medicare Prescription Drug Act cost us alot more than big oil subsidies. I agree all subsidies should be cut, but that's not going to happen. The special interest groups are too numerous and politicians need to buy votes.
It looks like the focus is on cutting subsidies that are marginal, but ignoring subsidies that have a huge effect on taxpayers' wallets. This is what makes people feel all warm and fuzzy, but accomplishes little. Get rid of socialist programs and alot more of us will feel all warm and fuzzy too.
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RayRay 4:18PM (11/27/2006)
Same crooks, different party.
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