Saturday, May 14, 2011

14 May 2011 No federal subsidies for oil


            Gasoline prices have climbed rapidly since the year’s beginning.  Oil company profits have gone up faster than gasoline prices. 
            Congress, seeking to appear interested in helping the American citizen, holds the usual hearing, rounds up the usual suspects.  The suspects, men obsessed with their own importance to an even higher degree than is Congress, fly into D.C. on private, corporate aircraft.  This allows the usual suspects to appear compliant to Congress summons while openly extending their middle finger toward the American consumer.  Congress asks the same questions that every Congress before has asked of the usual suspects.  Congress will be rewarded with video and photo evidence of their immense concern for the citizens who are actually paying the oil company subsidies.  Nothing will be changed.  The oil company execs will extend the middle fingers of both hands to consumers and fly to their weekend resorts.  Monday they will send lobbyists to many Congressional offices to reward the teavangelists/GOP and threaten the Democrats. 
            The oil execs have stated that they need subsidies in order to continue reaping obscene profits.  They threaten the American public with off shoring their operations and offices if subsidies are removed. 
            Screw them! As far as I am concerned, they should be greeted with nationalization of all petroleum and natural gas fields currently in production, in standby, or in development on U.S. soil.  All leases should be nationalized.  All equipment should be seized.  All oil and gas exploration should be shifted to the U.S. government. Congress should prevent the shipping of American fossil fuels to offshore markets.   
            Critics of nationalization will claim it will result in less efficiency and higher costs at the pump.  If so, I’d rather pay the government for fuel than to pay oil barons.  Let them find some other source of revenue to continue their greed-driven lives.
            In a letter dated 4 may 2011, a resident of  Johnson City TN quotes David Phillip Roe (R) TN 1st concerning his support of mountain top removal mining and the subsequent export of fossil fuels.
            “He answered that because alternative energy technologies were “going to be” coming on board the companies were “going to be” losing business so the export market is needed for the companies’ welfare.
“He further volunteered that the same is true for Alaskan oil, which is predominantly being exported to Asia.”
                Mr. Roe has obviously lost his concern for the people who voted for him but seems to demonstrate quite clearly, whom he looks toward for re-election.
                The 1st TN congressional district has been filled by a Republican for over 100 years.  Look around us at the steadily vanishing mountaintops and the steady loss of jobs to companies off shoring jobs and offices.  It’s is us, our friends, and our neighbors who the oil company execs were waving their middle fingers at.  Congressperson Roe isn’t offended.  He sits squarely behind the usual suspects. 




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