Amid rising gas prices, Obama to call for vote on killing oil tax breaks

[cal04]

Source: The Hill

President Barack Obama intends to press lawmakers Thursday to quickly strip billions of dollars in oil industry tax breaks, remarks that will come during his second energy-themed speech in two weeks aimed at blunting GOP attacks over gasoline prices.

Obama will speak Thursday afternoon at Nashua Community College in the swing state of New Hampshire.

“In Nashua, the President will . . . reiterate his call to repeal the unwarranted $4 billion in annual subsides handed out to oil and gas companies, and will urge Congress to take a vote on the repeal in the coming weeks,” a White House official said ahead of Obama’s remarks.

(snip)
“We plan to show that when (gasoline) is approaching $4 per gallon, oil companies don’t need the extra help from taxpayer subsidies,” the aide told The Hill. “As a matter of fairness, Republicans should not be continuing to defend this loophole.”



Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/213527-obama-to-demand-capitol-hill-vote-on-killing-oil-tax-breaks

[fasttense]

1. Why shouldn't the most profitable industry in the history of the world pay their fair share of taxes

As if the tax breaks we are giving them now have resulted in lower prices. It has not. So, why should we continue to support these corporate billionaires with our tax dollars??

[CAPHAVOC]

2. Long commute

I would have a long commute to my old job. It is in China. BTW the taxes would just be added to the pump price and you would pay them as usual.

[ArcticFox]

24. So let the price at the pump go up.

The closer the pump price gets to reflecting the true cost of gasoline and oil production, the more impetus there will be to develop alternatives. Next, we should require the oil companies to pay for all the warships and aircraft we have deployed to protect oil shipping routes around the world. Yes, that would also appear at the pump.

Rather than some people getting mad once a year when it's announced that BP or Chevron, e.g., paid little or no taxes, or got a credit, they will get mad at these companies every time they fill up.

As long as costs are externalized, we will never have an honest or fair free market economy.

Ask yourself: why should Joe Schmoe, who doesn't own a car, subsidize my gasoline consumption?

[CAPHAVOC]

25. If you have to worry

About the price of the Gas. Don't get a car.

[txlibdem]

41. You've made some great points, oil companies should have to hire Blackwater to keep

the oil lanes open. It's not the job of the US military to protect profits for any one industry, at the expense of all others and the taxpayer.

They should hire Blackwater to do their dirty work of keeping the oil lanes open. After all, they claim to believe that private companies can do the jobs that government is doing but do it for cheaper, right? Funny how they clam up when the subject of taking away the military support from the oil industry comes up...

[fasttense]

36. Really the price at the pump would go up? How do you know?

When Niki gets little children to put together their shoes at 2 cents an hour that price does NOT go down. When America opens up more federal land for the oil corporations to use and abuse, the price does NOT go down. How come it goes up if a fair tax is levied?

The price at the pump has very little to do with how much it costs to suck out our oil. It has only to do with what the market will bear. If there were hundreds of oil corporations instead of just a handful, the price might actually reflect costs. But because most corporations are monopolies and have very little competition, the price does NOT reflect costs, merely what the market will bear.

[txlibdem]

3. And these subsidies to fossil fuels make it that much harder for renewable energy to compete

The subsidies may have made some kind of sense at some time in the past but that time is long gone. Kill the fossil fuel subsidies!

We don't give subsidies to the diamond mines do we? It seems like the same logic: a fantastically profitable material just waiting for a hole to be dug (or drilled) and then it's profits into the stratosphere from there on out.

To paraphrase a Seinfeld character: "NO SUBSIDIES FOR YOU!"

[CAPHAVOC]

38. Time to get rid of ALL Federal subsidies.

[txlibdem]

40. After oil has enjoyed huge subsidies for over 100 years

Coal has received huge subsidies for longer than oil.

Natural gas got subsidies for decades and a free ride on its toxic waste water (Kansas says they can dump it onto farmers' fields).

Yeah, so let's just end all subsidies after Solar and Wind have had, what, three whole years of them??? Bright idea. Real good idea.

The reason behind subsidies for renewable energy is *because* the fossil fuels industries have received subsidies for so many decades that they are stable and always profitable, no matter what; Solar and Wind are only about a decade away from this goal so we should indeed end all subsidies and "look the other way" policies for fossil fuels and the waste products from using them but we definitely should NOT end subsidies for renewable energy until it gets to a level playing field with the dirty fossils they are replacing.

One decade versus 100+ years. Renewable energy is clearly superior and should have been our focus since 1979... but then you idiots voted in Ronny Raygun who ended all subsidies for energy efficient homes, solar, wind and electric cars. The world just wants to say thank you to anyone who voted for Reagan so if you know someone just remind them of outcome of their decision.

[CountAllVotes]

4. will this help any at all?

Why do I think it won't?

Price here as of yesterday was $4.49/gallon and rapidly rising. FUCK.

[bowens43]

8. it' not meant to lower prices

it's meant to remove subsidies given to to an industry that has record profits.

[CountAllVotes]

9. you mean no more?

I thought we'd be there/done that already?

Tired of this B.S.

[Incitatus]

29. Republicans are trying to blame high gas prices on Obama

Questioning their subsidies while they are making record profits will help shift the blame to oil companies

[Myrina]

5. Also, change Wall St. rules so oil/futures cannot be a speculative commodity ...

Not sure exactly who would be in charge of making that happen, but that, IMO, is the primary price-hike-driver.

[txlibdem]

6. I thought Dodd-Frank already did this

Am I wrong?

[Myrina]

43. Either it didn't pass, hasn't been implemented, or ...

... it's being ignored outright.

[txlibdem]

44. Well, the Prez. just appointed someone to head the dept

Maybe we'll see some action soon (here's hopin').

[JJW]

7. Redistribution

He can tax them instead of subsidizing them and then he can reduce the federal tax on gas and subsidize renewable.

[Fearless]

10. Good. Do it now.

[flamingdem]

11. Good move!

Time is now

[sofa king]

12. Interesting.

This implies to me that the President sees some sort of intricacy to this problem which is not being publicly discussed.

Because otherwise, threatening to raise taxes on the industry should lead to higher fuel prices.

Unless, of course, the price of gasoline at the pump is somehow being manipulated by the oil companies and speculators....

Then, all of a sudden, attacking their profit margin from another direction makes perfect sense. Suddenly, it makes sense for oil corporations to reign in rampant speculation driving the price up, lest the taking be counterbalanced by the loss of guaranteed profits underwritten by the federal government.

But the oil companies have repeatedly told Congress that they have no control over such things!

Could they have been telling Congress... something other than the truth?

[Ishoutandscream2]

13. Obama has been exciting me a lot these last couple of weeks

Glad to see this side of him more. I know there will be some here who will say he's always been like this. Maybe so, but I haven't seen it. I'm just happy to see him starting to say (metaphorically) to his critics on the right to kiss his ass.

[polichick]

18. I just hope he doesn't shift gears after he's reelected.

[mvd]

20. Me, too

I have to see it first. He has been wavering a bit on the Keystone Pipeline, and we need to stop its expansion.

[polichick]

21. I suspect that, once a new route is chosen, the admin. will back the pipeline...

...though I hope not.

[Control-Z]

27. I have a good feeling

about his reelection and second term.

[progressoid]

14. Golly, maybe we could have done that three years ago.

[BigD_95]

15. wouldnt it be smart

to ask congress to repeal the "unwarranted $4 billion in annual subsides handed out to oil and gas companies"

and then have a tax holiday of Federal taxes on the price of gas. Use the money saved not giving the gas companies tax breaks to use for the money lost at the pump?

Sounds like something the public would love.

Does anyone know how much we pay at the pump per gallon in federal taxes?

[progressoid]

16. 18.4 cents per gallon in Federal taxes.

State gasoline taxes vary

[BigD_95]

17. there u go

The President should say: I want to end taxes breaks for oil companies and use that money saved to take away the federal taxes for gas at the pump ($.18 per gallon) for the next year or 6 months.

[grahamhgreen]

22. No friggin way. I don't drive and those taxes help - barely - to offset the damage burning oil

does to the health of individuals and the damage to our environment, and the wars we have to get our fix - increase taxes and pay for the externalized costs of these cancerous products.

[dmallind]

31. No they don't - they go to roads. The things that your food, clothing etc get delivered via

while you are not driving.

[grahamhgreen]

35. Then, I think we do need to offset those costs by a healthy tax.

And let's make those delivery routes as short as possible - by ending costly trade agreements, and maybe even build some more windmills, solar plants, and electric trains and vehicles.

Anyway, that's what makes sense to me.

[MD20]

39. Why aren't Federal Taxes uniform across the states?

I have long wondered about wide array of Federal tax figures from state to state. It doesn't seem fair that some citizens are required to pay as much as 70.3 cents in gasoline taxes while another pays only 26.4 cents.

[Fastcars]

42. The Map Shows "State" Taxes

The federal tax is the same from state to state.

[davidthegnome]

19. I don't think it will happen

Just remember where a lot of that campaign money for republican candidates is coming from. Even for some democrats, I suspect.

While I admire the President's efforts, even he cannot take on the oligarchy. Even if he pulls it off, I suspect we'll see a further rise in the price of gas. One thing to ponder.. what happens when it hits five dollars a gallon or more Nation-wide? Most Countries have been paying more than this for a long time, of course, in many of the developed Nations they have decent public transportation so it balances out somewhat.

[grahamhgreen]

23. Good! Kill the loopholes, THEN we can see about lowering the tax rates.

[Control-Z]

26. Honestly, do they ever?

"...when (gasoline) is approaching $4 per gallon, oil companies don’t need the extra help from taxpayer subsidies,”

Do they EVER need extra help from taxpayer subsidies?

[libodem]

28. Finally something

Oil companies don't play fair.

[eridani]

30. Good start

Now please go after the oil speculators too.

[tawadi]

32. Long overdue

Hope it happens.

[freshwest]

33. When they give the consumers a break by supporting alternatives, give them subsidies. Not 'til then.

Their way of doing business, screwing with our planet and people for their profit, has got to go.

They damn well know better than to filibuster energy sources they can't control but they're determined to rule the world as untouchable SOBs.

Obama is doing the right thing here!

[Devil_Fish]

34. Note to Obama: I havn't had gas under $4 a gal in years.

[Hotler]

37. The prsident should have pushed this his first week in office when....

we had control in the house and the senate. It is only coming up because it is any election year.

[Hugabear]

45. Bring back the Windfall Profits Tax

Time to go after all those oil industry windfall profits.

[midnight]

46. I wonder if the oil companies will protest?