Posted on 03/17/2012 12:44:20 PM PDT by bestintxas
President Obama said Saturday he can’t do much to lower gas prices, and renewed his call for Congress to end tax breaks for oil companies.
“The truth is, the price of gas depends on a lot of factors that are often beyond our control,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly address. “Unrest in the Middle East can tighten global oil supply. Growing nations like China or India adding cars to the road increases demand.”
The president didn’t mention one of the few direct actions he could take to try to lower gas prices in the short term — releasing oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Mr. Obama called for that solution as a candidate in 2008 when gasoline prices neared $4 per gallon, and he reportedly discussed the option earlier this week with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Instead, Mr. Obama said his administration is cracking down on oil profits — on traders who “distort the price of oil, and make big profits for themselves at your expense.” And he called on Congress again to eliminate $4 billion in annual tax breaks for oil companies.
“Your member of Congress should be fighting for you,” Mr. Obama said. “Not for big financial firms. Not for big oil companies.”
A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service last year found that eliminating the subsidies would likely result in higher gas prices in the short term.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Universal suffrage regardless of whether you have any skin in the game is a disaster and will be the end of the USA we knew/know.
End tax breaks..... costs to oil companies are passed to consumers to maintain profit percentage and the Dali’Bama gets his 10$ a gallon gaz !.....or am I just speculating ?
The people that voted for him... they're insane.
Yeah, that’ll make prices go down. *eyeroll*
I really have to say that if this clown gets re-elected, I will have officially lost hope in this country. The marching morons will have taken over.
You’re right. Very sad.
I am a little surprised by most of the responses here so far. I will admit that I have not read the details of the tax breaks he is talking about. If he is talking about taking tax breaks available to all companies and denying them to the oil companies, then no way. Equal protection would seem to apply there.
And likewise, if he is instead talking about subsidies to the oil companies while still using federal money as a slush fund to line the pocket of his greenie buddies, then no thanks to that too.
But as a free market capitalist, the oil companies (and the car companies, and the “green” companies, etc) should live or die on their own merits, period! No special subsidies. No special tax breaks. So yes, end the tax breaks, but not just for the oil companies, but for all. Or better yet, set a corporate tax rate for all that will encourage job growth, and encourage foreign companies to consider relocating here, instead of the soon-to-be highest corporate tax rate in the world.
He must be counting on those who support him not realizing that oil companies, like any business, will just pass their higher tax bill on to the consumer through the price at the pump.
Win/win for him. He gets to blame the oil companies for high gas prices AND gets more taxes to use to buy votes with (not to pay off debt - can’t buy more votes with that) while getting NONE of the blame for those higher gas prices.
Unfortunately he’s right. The publik skools have did there jobs too well.
Amen, AndyK. I was getting ready to point that out, but see you already have!
It fits with his scheme to goose gas prices up as much as he can.
Even picking winners and losers — he wants gas to be a loser because of course nanny gummit knows best, all cars ought to be wind powered!
It sure didn't stay up there long though.
Ending tax breaks does NOT:
1. Make gasoline cheaper. It makes it more expensive.
2. Give more money to drivers. It gives more money to the government.
3. Produce more oil. Since R&D is reduced, it actually produces less oil and that will serve to drive UP the price of oil
just to add to your post (a little) ....
HE AND HIS LEFTIES HATE ALL CARBON BASED FUELs and life forms.
I think there are other tax breaks like the depletion allowance, but those are available to all resource extraction industries (mining, in particular).
I'm not aware of any special tax breaks just for the oil industry. Can someone enlighten me, so that I just don't spout out about things I know nothing about -- like the current "Occupy Oval Office" participant?
These tax breaks keep coming up. We need to eliminate the tax breaks and lower all coporate taxes.
I just posted something to this effect, but I'm not aware of any special tax breaks just for the oil industry -- at least not any significant ones.
There is a domestic manufacturing credit, which is available to everyone that is manufacturing anything in the US. Excluding Oil/Gas from that tax credit would be penalizing them in particular.
There is also a depletion allowance that effectively writes down the value of the asset (the oil/gas well) as it is depleted. Think of it as a form of depreciation. But, that's also available to all resource extraction industries (mining for coal, precious metals, minerals, rare earths, etc). All businesses do the same thing with their capital assets, so it's not anything unusual.
This is a talking point, and nothing more. On average, the large integrated oil companies (Shell, ExxonMobil, etc.) have a net profit margin of only 8%. See for yourself:
http://biz.yahoo.com/p/1conameu.html
Compare it to all industries:
http://biz.yahoo.com/p/sum_qpmu.html
In comparison, Apple has a net profit margin of about 28%. I'm not begrudging Apple, but just pointing out the hypocrisy of people who gripe about "big oil", but can't wait to give their money to Apple.
Yes, sadly the part of the brain in Liberals which connect the “Cause Lobe” and the “Effect Lobe” is more or less permanently disconnected.
I think certain states need to start issuing drilling permits and tell the feds to stay away and if they refuse send the national guard there to escort the EPA out of the states....
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