OIL PRICES AND TAX BREAKS

As a former state senator for 20 years, an executive committee member of the National Energy Council, an energy consultant, a stock broker and financial analyst, let me please help you interpret all the doublespeak and misinformation, without the burden of having to defend either side.

Now, to those of us average Joes and Janes, oil is a necessity. But why does it cost so much? Whether it's the owners of the oil, the industries that extract and refine it, the governments who tax it, or the investors who buy it, somehow they all combine to figure how much the end user can stand to pay for it. Interestingly in the top 10 producers are our two neighbors Canada and Mexico, which both sell us a lot of oil, and a major beneficiary of our financial and military largesse—Iraq. Many years ago I passed legislation requesting that the White House arrange a deal with Iraq that eventually pays us back in oil for all the money we have spent liberating that country. Now, that would bring the price of gas down. Unfortunately, President Bush didn't like the idea.


The average cost to produce a barrel of oil, is about $30, with one third going to extraction and taxes and two thirds going to exploration and development. And that's according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration survey. , even though oil companies say it'll cost them 60 dollars. The going rate to buy a barrel of oil today is about $110. That's a nice profit when your dealing with a necessity that doesn't require constant improvement to it's product or marketing to sell it.

You see, it's all politics, with a coalition of Republicans and Democrats conning people to believing tax breaks are the American thing to do. Having the taxpayers pay more taxes so that managers of corporations can make more money sounds to me like the corporations are running this country.
Oh! Another thing this industry does with all its cash, is buy influence in Washington. Oil and gas companies spent 40 million dollars lobbying Congress, in just the first quarter of this year, and have donated nearly $18 million directly to the political campaigns of Senators who voted against ending these tax breaks.

We need to achieve a better balance between industry and government in this case, by removing the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and immediately begin granting environmentally sound drilling permits to not only eventually remove ourselves from the grip of foreign oil, but to increase our revenues from enhanced collections from the oil industry after the removal of these tax breaks.




We need to examine all the tax breaks and subsidies that have been passed by Congress and eliminate those that don't offer an immediate stimulation to our economy.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Oil. oil prices
• oil and gas prices
• tax breaks
• oil subsidies
• oil profits
• big oil
• big oil profits
• oil taxes. oil tax breaks
• Conressional tax break
• Congress
• oil drilling

[TheAverageJoeus]

HEY JOE...You gotta touch base with the ron paul/liberty movement... we can spread your message for you

koch46 1 day ago

Joe, you make far too much sense. We need more refineries, more of our own production, and an end to ethanol.

ss442es 2 days ago

Alternate fuel is the way to go. Too many people rely on gasoline.

I think an important first step would be to remove the "person" status from corporations.

Katfellow 2 days ago

[poindexterwitkowsky]

`The idea that lower corporate & individual tax rates spur job growth is a 30-year REPUBLICAN LIE. Since the implementation of the REAGAN & BUSH TAX CUTS, America has LOST MORE jobs than at any other time in its history. Not collectng a FAIR SHARE of taxes from corporations& the wealthy has spawned a SERIOUS REVENUE PROBLEM which should be a matter of NATIONAL SECURITY. On the other hand, a WORKING MIDDLE CLASS with money to spend DOES SPUR JOB GROWTH.*~* AMERICA, REJECT THE REPUBLICAN LIE!

[7676mark]

A real conservative. Comforting to know someone understands. People are like sheep. Too bad the Tea Party doesn't pick up on this stuff. How come they don't talk like this? Maybe we just need a Truth Party instead of one that is tied into a political party or corporations.

[smertary]

JOE FOR PRESIDENT. Listening to your videos, you seem to be the only one that understands and can fix the mess we're in.

[RebelRadius]

Defining the problem and telling the truth will empower American sovereigns.

Thank You so very much Mr Carraro. 

[smertary]

Right on. Too bad you're not still in a position to make a difference. These other guys don't have a clue.

[RailRoadCar9]

you called it Joe,