Big Oil's Free Ride

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via CommonDreams:



Published on Monday, May 23, 2011 by OtherWords

Big Oil's Free Ride
Instead of working for the American people, many lawmakers are shilling for Big Oil.

by Kate Colarulli


Over Memorial Day weekend, tens of millions of Americans will take road trips, emptying their wallets at the pump.

The oil industry hardly needs the boost this year. Just in the first quarter of 2011, oil companies posted billions of dollars in profits. They're raking it in while working families are shelling out their earnings to pay at the pump. On top of those massive profits, the oil industry also benefits from tax breaks of $4 billion each year.

Outrageously, Big Oil believes that it somehow deserves this special treatment. ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva recently went as far as to call repealing oil industry tax breaks "un-American."

Adding insult to injury, lawmakers in the Senate have been unable to get the 60 votes they need to end these tax breaks. GOP leaders blocked altogether a recent attempt to bring up the issue for a vote in the House of Representatives. At a time when Americans are struggling to support their families, put food on the table, and fill up their gas tanks, giveaways to Big Oil make no sense. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/23-5