Posted on 04/25/2011 3:46:37 PM PDT by Qbert
At a time of skyrocketing gas prices and near-record profits for oil companies, House Speaker John Boehner made a major concession today: Congress should consider cutting multi-billion dollar subsidies to oil companies.
"Everybody wants to go after the oil companies and, frankly, they've got some part of this to blame," the Ohio Republican told ABC News today.
Blame aside, what about the cold, hard cash -- the billions of dollars in tax breaks and other subsidies big oil receives every year? President Obama has proposed doing away with many of them, which he says would save $45 billion over the next 10 years.
"It's certainly something we should be looking at," Boehner said. "We're in a time when the federal government's short on revenues. They ought to be paying their fair share."
That is a major departure for the speaker on an issue that Republicans have long defended as necessary to encourage domestic oil production.
The speaker said that while he wanted to "take a look" at oil subsidies. He also wanted to "see all the facts" first.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
As somebody once said, if the Democrats proposed to burn down Washington, the Republicans would propose to phase it in over 5 years.
Good charts. (It would be nice if we could have a GOP leader arguing for building some refineries here for a change instead of this nonsense that Boehner spews).
Actually there are reasons for the subsidies to oil companies, but at any rate, what does that have to do with high gas prices?
And if that’s his stance, then why isn’t he proposing cuts to all subsidies?
Balderdash! Of course the Oil Companies are partly to blame - after all, how could they be making record profits if they were blameless? The only thing that is NOT to blame this time is the demand! The global market for oil has declined, so the price actually should decline also. This has nothing to do with the global demand market price.
No, there are many to blame, Speculators, Oil Companies, the Middle East, you take your pick. The biggest problem is that we, the US will take no blame for our government policies. Now if you want to extend blame, blame our government! The EPA and regulation have decimated our own oil production. Blame Obama and crew!
1) From 1977 to date, American oil companies have paid 587 billion dollars in Federal Corporate Income Taxes.
2) Oil companies have collected Federal Taxes and Fees at the point of retail sale and turned 100% of these Federal taxes over to the Federal Government. Since 1977, this amount is approximately 1.27 Trillion dollars.
3) Net profits by oils companies since 1977 have been just under 600 billion dollars.
Who is ****ing who????
LLS
Cut all subsidies for any energy. Let capitalism sort it out!
Well then, are you also willing to cut subsidies to farmers for high food prices?
There's always reasons. They are never justified.
It doesn't matter if it affects gas prices or not. Cutting subsidies is a good idea.
I have no problem with cutting subsidies if you cut equally, and reform the tax code.
But to somehow equate this with high gas prices as Boehner is attempting to do is ludicrous. Why can’t he just state the obvious?
Exactly.
And where was Boehner and everybody making this nonsensical argument in the Nineties when oil was rock bottom, and oil companies were *losing* money?
Boehner ... what an F'n tool!
Get rid of him...
This is the best we can expect from the leaders of the republican branch of the BIG GOVERNMENT PARTY.
We need leaders with the guts to:
End all federal subsidies - industry, agriculture, colleges, foreign aid, alternate energy (especially the idiotic Corn-For-Ethanol subsidy).
Institute a REAL minimum income tax for all individuals and industries (like GE).
End the horrible EITC. The IRS should not be a vehicle for active wealth redistribution.
Immediately stop all freebies and handouts to illegals.
End the special immigration laws and subsidies for Cubans.
It seems to me that since we are the government (although less and less) it is ok to forbid taxing everything. It is up to us to decide what gets taxed. The government is entitled to tax what we let it nothing more. It is not their money.
Amen and Amen. Let it be so.
The parties are merely two sides of the same coin, a plug nickel.
Boner tries to explain his crying as being so full of the emotion of where he is, and his current position. Such awe...
I would rather have a leader that believes he should be there, instead of one that is shocked to find himself there.
Can you imagine Winston Churchill crying in the House of Commons, interrupting his blood, toil, tears and sweat speech? What would sniveling have done for the impact of that speech on the public!
We have elected the most incompetent people in both parties, and it is time that we call a spade a spade and get rid of those that have no goal but to stay in office.
Boner needs to flaccidly go where no politician dares to go - home.
Yes, I was only addressing the use of the language. I think if you talk to most people about subsidies, they believe you are talking about the government sticking their hand in their pocket and writing a check out. But they are tax breaks as well. The word subsidy is used to make it seem much more sinister. As always, he who defines the discussion wins.
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