In
2006, the CEO of Exxon Mobil exclaimed that, gosh, his corporation was rolling
in so much profit that he simply didn’t know how to spend it
all.
Well,
one place worthy of major investment would have been R & D on alternative
fuels to help America break its dependency on ever-more expensive and ever-more
polluting oil. But, no go. Two years later, with oil above $100 a barrel and
Exxon’s profits topping $40 billion a year, the rationale for such an investment
is even stronger. Yet, the oil giant recently rejected a congressional request
that it start putting 10 percent of its earnings into alternative energy
development.
Okay,
maybe we don’t even want Big Oil mucking around in solar, wind, hydrogen, and
other renewables, since they would try to monopolize production and engage in
the same kind of gouging they do with oil products. But here’s one small step
Congress could take toward new energy resources: Repeal the $1.8 billion annual
tax subsidy that the Bushites gave to the oil industry in the 2004 tax bill.
Instead of continuing to put this freebie in the pockets of the Exxons, lets
invest these tax dollars in a renewable energy future – $1.8 billion would
roughly double what Washington now spends
for R & D on alternative
sources.
Besides,
with $100-a-barrel oil and the top five corporations banking $123 billion in
yearly profits, why are we taxpayers subsidizing them? We already pay a king’s
ransom at the pump, so let’s cut off this tax giveaway they never should have
gotten in the first place. But you can never overestimate oil company greed.
Industry executives and lobbyists are now whining to Congress that, since oil
prices might come down someday, they should be able to keep this
subsidy as a
cushion.
Hey,
build your own cushion the old fashioned way – with your rip-off
profits.
Copyright 2008 by Jim Hightower &
Associates
Reprinted with permission.
Posted May 04,
2008
URL:
www.thecitizenfsr.org
SM
2000-2011
