Remember back not too long ago, Democrats were complaining about "Bush's gas prices?" It might have been missed, due to the complaints from Democrats about, well, everything, but, believe me, they did complain about high gas prices. They also blamed gas/oil companies. Specifically, American ones. Foreign ones, like Citgo, owned by Venezuala, and OPEC, were unsurprisingly left out of the seethefest.
Now, the Dems are following through on their promise to repeal the tax breaks on American oil companies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The new Democratic-led House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday aimed at "Big Oil" that would roll back some industry tax breaks and force energy companies to pay more drilling royalties, valued at $14 billion over 10 years.
Passage of the bill by a vote of 264-163 capped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 100-hour agenda, which included measures to raise the minimum wage, lower student loan interest rates and bolster homeland security.
What will this really do?
Republican opponents said the bill would raise U.S. energy costs, and Republican Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri called it "a win for OPEC," referring to the group of oil-exporting nations that produces over a third of the world's oil.
"In reality, the only people it punishes is the American people," said Rep. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican and former House speaker.
Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican, said the bill would require U.S. consumers to import more oil from U.S. nations like Iran and Venezuela, which are both OPEC members and foes of U.S. policy.
In effect, what this is doing is "raising taxes" on the American people. The extra costs will be passed on to the consumers. And it will be interesting to see how the market responds, with the price of oil down under $50. The price seems to be going back up today, on other forces. And, if they do go up if the Bill is signed, the Democrats will, you know it, blame George Bush and the American oil companies.
Look who else opposes the Bill
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the bill will benefit foreign oil producers.
"Energy is the single most important resource underpinning America's economy, national security, global competitiveness, and way of life," said Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president for government affairs.
"Any effort, including H.R. 6, that reduces domestic energy production forces a continued reliance on foreign oil and transfers the nation's wealth to many unstable parts of the world."
Really, do oil companies deserve or need tax breaks? Personally, I am in favor of getting rid of all tax breaks, and having a nice, low, flat tax for all, private and business. But, that is not going to happen. This Bill just shows that Democrats have a) no clue about real business, especially on a global scale, b) could care less what the effects are on the American public, and c) want to see foreign enemies recieve more money.
Okay, how about this? Why don’t we just bypass all the legislation and lock in our energy costs now? Specifically, electric costs.
There’s actually a way to do this now, and it’s through renewable energy. In an elegant win-win solution, a new solar company is offering rooftop solar net metering systems for rent for roughly the same monthly amount the homeowner now pays to the utility. This means no huge investment upfront.
What’s more, electricity rates are locked in for the life of the rental contract, so this means thousands in savings for the consumer. Convenient, affordable renewable energy. Significant savings over the long-term. This is a solution we can take action on right now! More information at http://www.joinsolar.com .
It is an interesting idea, however, it would put companies out of business, once they started losing money, which would leave people without their energy needs.
Solar is interesting, and it would be great if it would be easier and cheaper to install, so that people can use it to provide extra energy for their homes.
But tagging all of this on oil companies is disengenuous from the Democrats, and can lead to vastly higher costs for everything.