This is a cross post from transition voice. Written by Erik Curren
The President can the Osama bin Laden now killed to big oil get up?
Comments by House Speaker John Boehner, the subsidies for oil and gas companies on the table, Democrats led by Montana Senator Max Baucus should cut through encouraged last week again stalled efforts handouts to the largest oil companies billions a year in taxpayer.
No wonder big oil will gently into the good night, not even after the message only gains 30% over the previous year. At the same time are ordinary families who do not have, that much touted recovery experience now to pay $4 a gallon or more at the pump.
But that hasn't stopped, the oil and gas lobby from firing back. The American Petroleum Institute has already set, robust lobbying efforts by complement its member companies with their own pressure campaign to Congress.
Meanwhile, API Chief Economist John Felmy said that "If about gasoline prices seriously, he would concentrate Senator Baucus on the further development of our vast resources here at home the much-needed American would create jobs, revenue for the Government to erhohenund strengthen our energy security."
Of course, America needs the oil. But to assert that the industry is much more for the domestic economy in exchange for the taxpayer is only one of the myths that has spun the oil lobby in the support that they enjoy.
Is to set the record straight, here our take on all the things that the industry warns that we lose when we finally cut their handouts of this time.
Don't be scared. Instead, you are very, very un-scared.
Claim: "What is the oil companies - what does each company - when your taxes rise?" asks Conservative commentator Keith Koffler, echo the Orwellian industry's line, that subsidies cut is actually a form of tax increase. "PASS IT THE COST ALONG TO THE CONSUMER." "That is, higher gas prices."
Reality: In 2006, now on course for peak oil there can do to stop not much anyone to gas prices rising. Crude oil and gas prices will be a nasty BREW of declining supply and demand volatile, but the trend in the coming years only up, up, up. Briefly as they tell us for years, ExxonMobil, Chevron and the other oil majors have little control over prices. US gas prices are driven mostly by global crude oil prices. And crude oil are set on the world market. A joint Economic Committee report says, "the removal or alteration is one to have little effect on consumer prices for oil and gas [these subsidies]."
Claim: "The Administration continues to ignore the fact that largest job creator, is this industry in the nation", said CEO Jack Gerard API in February, claimed that cut oil subsidies "Thousands of potential jobs." would eliminate the industry to support claims to 9.2 million American workers.
Reality: What is the harm in a little exaggeration? Now, if you actually employ less than 10% of employees claim, then Houston we have a problem. According to the Bureau of economic analysis, in 2009 the industry directly employs only 800,000 in the United States, comparable to the number of clerks, commercial employees, the work in sporting goods, hobby, book and music - and much less than 1% of the entire American jobs. Studies have consistently, that new shown labour-intensive energy sources like solar and wind create far more jobs per dollar as mature industries such as drilling and mining costs have to rely increasingly on machines to work.
Claim: Cutting subsidies "would actually lower revenue to the Government of many billion dollars due to a lost revenue from projects that [aka, cut subsidies] would prevent the tax increases going forward," says the API of Gerard.
Reality: The true effective tax rate which is oil industry, a topic of debate, with some analysts claim that petroleum and pipeline pays only about a third of the statutory corporate income tax rate of 35%. If, in the current overheated oil market, projects to find and oil are not value without subsidies do, then these projects were a waste of money probably from the outset. And is prepared not after almost a century of public support, this age industry that still take off wheels? Or have the world's most profitable companies are addicted to corporate welfare?
Claim: "America needs policies, promoting more supply of petroleum and natural gas, not policies, which hinder the industry's ability consumers which require energy, that you need." The United States much energy security could improve that access to domestic oil and gas resources, "says API-funded website energy morning."
Reality: Myth # 3. Here, drilling, drill now, dream on. Or in the words of radio host Cenk Uygur "are not U.S. property multinational corporations such as ExxonMobil." They sell to the world and their component parts to corporate profits. So, if they drilling, drilling for the whole world, not just us. "Some might find the heart warming, but it has certainly nothing to do with the United States having more oil or lower prices."
Claim: The oil and gas industry is already supports clean energy and green jobs more efficiently than the Obama administration, according to the API ", with less burden on the American taxpayer by its own green investment."
Reality: How stupid think oil lobbyists really we are? Despite cheery advertising campaign with solar panels and sunflower not expand achievement industry into green energy far beyond the field of marketing clearly. It is true that the industry spent $98 billion for "renewable, alternative and advanced emerging energy technologies" from 2000 to 2005. But 0nly about 1%, went into clean energy including solar, wind and geothermal energy, while a whopping $86 billion went one in "refine heavier sources of crude oil, including tar and oil sands and oil shale, and turn of waste and residues hydrocarbons into useful products" - more or less the opposite of clean energy - loud a report of the Senate.
President Obama devoted his April 30 weekly address cutting oil subsidies. "We should in the future instead of subsidising the yesterday's energy invested."
Let us hope that meet its deeds to its words. Big oil is undoubtedly a formidable enemy, even if they are perforated in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. But when the President finally used his pulpit really clean energy and conservation advocate, who takes care of itself to America's future with him should be.
: Erik Curren
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