Will Big Oil Keep Its Subsidies in a Fiscal-Cliff Deal?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/big-oil-subsidies-fiscal-cliff-deal-obama-congress



Will Big Oil Keep Its Subsidies in a Fiscal-Cliff Deal?
—By Andy Kroll
Fri Dec. 7, 2012 3:03 AM PST

Democrats and Republicans are duking it out in Washington over a deal to avert the slew of spending cuts and tax increases—the so-called "fiscal cliff" you've heard so much about—that will take start to effect on January 1. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have argued that "everything should be on the table" in negotiations toward a deal that trims the nation's debt and avoids the cliff. Yet notably absent from the debate over what to cut and what to spare in a deal are the tens of billions of dollars in subsidies, tax breaks, and other perks for the hugely profitable oil industry.

That silence begs the question: Will Big Oil's subsidies go untouched in the fight over a fiscal-cliff deal?

In news stories and public remarks by leading Democrats and Republicans, there's been scant discussion of oil subsidies as a potential source of revenue. The proposals floated by the White House and by congressional Republicans have not delved into enough detail to know whether subsidies would be included in their proposed changes. And multiple aides to Senate Democrats say that, while they believe the subsidies are on the table, there hasn't been much of a push behind the scenes to include them in a fiscal-cliff deal.

In case you didn't quite believe it, yes, the US government subsidizes Big Oil—shorthand for ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, five of the biggest oil companies. Many smaller drilling and refining companies up and down the supply chain receive subsidies, too. Some of these subsidies date back a hundred years, when the fledgling oil exploration business was risky, even deadly. Today, with a barrel of crude oil costing $90 to $100, Big Oil practically prints money. The big-five corporations piled up profits of more than $1 trillion between 2001 and 2011. ExxonMobil alone raked in $16 billion in profits in April, May, and June of this year, the highest-ever quarterly profit for a US corporation.

[liberal N proud]

1. Of course they will keep them

It is silly to even ask that question, the money is going to stay with those who own Congress.

That is not you and me!

[customerserviceguy]

2. At this point, a fiscal cliff deal

if there ever is one, is just going to be a quick kick of the can down the road. Perhaps if there is a comprehensive rewrite of the tax code, Big Oil might lose a subsidy or two, but not until then.

[libodem]

3. Hope not

And does the government ever even charge them for drilling on our national, BLM, land? I want my check like they get in Alaska, mofoz.