[theBuckwheat]

I would also add the question: Who and what causes are advanced when we draw lines on the map outlawing drilling for oil and gas on vast areas of the US and then proceed to state that we "depend" on foreign oil?

[rellimpank]

--good post--

[M1Tanker]

I would also add the question: Who and what causes are advanced when we draw lines on the map outlawing drilling for oil and gas on vast areas of the US and then proceed to state that we "depend" on foreign oil?

We can start with Al Gore and his "carbon neutral lifestyle" or lack thereof.
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/Articles/Gore%20Isnt%20Quite%20as%20Green.html

From the article: Gore has held these apocalyptic views about the environment for some time. So why, then, didn't Gore dump his family's large stock holdings in Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum? As executor of his family's trust, over the years Gore has controlled hundreds of thousands of dollars in Oxy stock. Oxy has been mired in controversy over oil drilling in ecologically sensitive areas.

Humanity might be "sitting on a ticking time bomb," but Gore's home in Carthage is sitting on a zinc mine. Gore receives $20,000 a year in royalties from Pasminco Zinc, which operates a zinc concession on his property. Tennessee has cited the company for adding large quantities of barium, iron and zinc to the nearby Caney Fork River.

And that's just one name. If we had real journalists who were interested in the truth, they would ask Sen Kennedy about his oil stocks.

[thackney]

Who and what causes are advanced when we draw lines on the map outlawing drilling for oil and gas on vast areas of the US

[hosepipe]

[ Government, not big oil, is the big beneficiary of high oil prices ]

Exactly... Government(local,state or fed) taxing ANY ENERGY is obscene.. Raises the prices of literally everything.. and is a drag on the economy..

Odds of a remedy is remote.. On the otherhand could be a beautiful platform for any budding politician... make ANY ENERGY TAXES ILLEGAL...

[JOE43270]

"Government, not big oil, is the big beneficiary of high oil prices."

I agree 100%. The problem I have with the oil companies is the lack of inspections and maintence they do on their equipment.

[Man50D]

In fact, oil companies paid three times more in taxes than they earned in profits during those 28 years.

This statement is not entirely correct. oil companies were assessed three times more in taxes than they earned in profits but, like any corporation, they passed the cost of that tax onto the consumer in the form of higher prices.

1] Remarkably, there are some in this country who think “big oil” is not paying its fair share and that a windfall profits tax is needed to punish the oil industry for their “excessive” profits.

A windfall profit tax will punish the consumer. The corporations will simply raise Thor prices to cover the cost of the new tax.

The question then becomes how can prices be lowered? The answer, at least in part, is already before Congress. A bill currently before the House The Fair Tax Act H.R.25 and the Senate version(S.25) will replace our current federal income tax with a Consumption/National Retail Sales tax.

How can this lower prices? Currently any good is taxed at each stage of production. These hidden/embedded taxes known as value added taxes(VATS) raise the cost of all goods. The Fair Tax Act will abolish business to business taxesFair Tax FAQ#2. Companies will be forced to pass on the cost savings in the form of lower prices due to competition.

How can The Fair Tax help on the state level? States can choose to conform to The Fair Tax Fair Tax FAQ#25. By doing so states will realize The Fair Tax will have a much broader and more stable tax base than the income tax because the tax will be collected with every purchase. This is true even when people are unemployed. No tax can be collected from a person's income who is not working. The broader tax base will result in states raising the same amount of state sales tax with a lower tax rate. Administrative costs will be considerably lower. Only one additional line will be necessary on the state sales tax form to collect the federal consumption tax. Conforming states will receive will be paid a fee for collecting the tax. Visit theAmericans For Fair Taxation website for more information.

[socialismisinsidious]

Good question.
To the enviroweenies out there: environmentally wouldn't it make much more sense and use much less energy to drill here instead of carting oil half way around the world? How is hauling a product over half the globe efficient or smart? Not that libs ever use common sense!

[groanup]

Great find!! Thanks for posting. Too bad only we Freepers will see it.

[osideplanner]

Actually it's both: record profits and record taxes.

[RightWhale]

Alaska's Gummint is funded 90% on oil revenues. Even with the partial shutdown at Prudhoe, Alaska expects a surplus of $6 million this year. Or this week. One of those.