Cruisin' with The Nation: Why red isn't the new green (Update #1)

4 thoughts on “Cruisin' with The Nation: Why red isn't the new green (Update #1)”

1. What “money the government currently doles out to the oil and gas companies”? Last time I looked, the oil and gas companies are paying BILLIONS to the Federal government (Department of the Interior) for ‘leases’ of the rights to drill for gas and oil, then millions more in fees to apply for permission to drill (from the EPA), which are currently being routinely delayed or denied. Add to that the Federal excise taxes on their products (18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel). At about 50 million gallons a day, that’s ANOTHER $3.65 billion dollars a year paid by the oil companies to the Federal government.

2. Just a quick and fun look at it also:

   That $4 Billion collected will run the US Government at current spending for: 9.6 hours.

   The US government collects $.18 of every gallon at the top ($.24 for Diesel), at the pump, in addition to all the other taxes. It will collect about $25 Billion in taxes at the pump.

   Total oil company profits are $36 Billion this year.

   Credit Card transations cost about 4.7 cents per gallon on average. So the CC companies will collect $6.6 billion.

3. It is unreasonable to expect these green whackjobs to be truthful. If they told the truth they would not be able to generate the donations that let them live in luxurious comfort while telling everyone they must do without.

4. The $4 Billion is a Democrat talking point. Much of what they are talking about are credits available to all businesses.

   http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2011/05/02/getting-even-with-exxonmobil/

   Further, the oil business pays taxes at higher rates than most others.

   U.S. oil and natural gas companies pay considerably more of its profits in taxes than the average manufacturing company. In fact, the industry’s 2009 income tax expenses averaged 48.4 percent, compared to 28.1 percent for the other S&P Industrial companies. Tax deductions should in no way be confused with subsidies. A fundamental pillar of the U.S. income tax system is that businesses are taxed only on net income. This means that there needs to be some practical and fair method for businesses to recover costs. The policies underlying cost recovery provisions in the tax code legitimately utilized by the oil and natural gas industry are no different than those for any other industry, and are necessary to insure that our industry is treated no differently than any other.

   http://www.api.org/policy/tax/index.cfm