A few highlights from the above article (blue and bold is mine):
"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said, aiming his remarks at the five executives sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a congressional hearing room. Does this guy think we're as dumb as he is?
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"We depend on high earnings during the up cycle to sustain ... investment over the long term, including the down cycles," he continued.
The up cycle has been going on too long, suggested Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo. "The anger level is rising significantly." So, he wants businesses to fail? Funny, the government is talking about imposing additional regulations on Wall Street because the market isn't performing well enough for them. So when "Big Oil" has more down years than up, again, they're going to like that?
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"Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," said Simon. He said over the past five years Exxon Mobil's U.S. tax bill exceeded its U.S. earnings by $19 billion.
Markey was not impressed. Unimpressed because he doesn't understand reality. Big Government is the one stifling invention and production.
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Elsewhere on Tuesday, many independent truckers parked their rigs and others slowed to a crawl on highways to protest high fuel prices. The demonstrations were only scattered, but long lines of trucks were moving at about 20 mph on the New Jersey Turnpike, and three drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic on Interstate 55 outside Chicago, driving three abreast at low speeds. Nice. That will fix the problem, I'm sure.
As a matter of fact, the government is the largest recipient, by far, of the profits of "Big Oil".
So once again, BIG GOVERNMENT, should have nothing to say about "Big Oil".
And this is all beside the point really. Frankly, it should be no concern of the government's whether "Big Oil" is making money or not. They are a business in a supposedly free country and they should be free to run their business as they see fit...and that's to make a profit...duh!
If our government were really working for us, they would free the oil companies of paying any and all taxes so that they may use their profits how they see fit. Of course, that would be to use the profits to turn even bigger profits...and you know how they would do that? With new innovations. Do you not think oil companies have a desire to create and develop and discover new types of energy??? They desperately want to...it will only make things better for them and us...if only governments would let them. I just wonder how long it will be before we allow our government to take over the energy sector as Hugo Chavez did in Venezuela? Keep your eye out down there and see how well that goes for Venezuela and see if that's something you think you'd like here.
If you haven't yet read Atlas Shrugged, I strongly urge you to do so. It's frightening how fast both political parties are taking our country down the path to collectivism and you should be very concerned about it. It's scary how a work of fiction mirrors so well the state of the world we are living in today.
You're gonna think pain at the pump when you live in a dictatorship and there's no gas at the pump to be had.
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