The political Left would have you believe that we taxpayers are heavily subsidizing “Big Oil” here in the United States – at a time when they are enjoying “excessive” profits. Further, the implication is that it is the fault of the current President and his policies.
Research shows that while there are some subsidies going to the Oil Industry, it is completely out of proportion to the subsidies going to other energy sectors. This information was gathered from a Department of Energy Report* entitled “Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy Markets 2007” published in April 2008, by the ‘Energy Information Administration Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric, and Alternate Fuels’ and independent subordinate agency of the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to the report, as of 2007, the Subsidy to each of the following industries is expressed as a function of Megawatt hour of power generation by industry was:
Coal: $0.44
Nuclear: $1.59
Natural Gas & Liquid Oil: $0.25
Hydroelectric: $0.67
Wind: $23.37
Solar: $24.34
In reality, the majority of the Federal subsidy ‘attributed’ to the ‘Natural Gas & Liquid Oil’ industry has been in the form of direct subsidies paid to assist low income consumers (home heating) with rising energy costs and indirect subsidies associated with tax credits associated with such things as fuels with lower ozone-depleting emissions and expenses associated with new sources of crude-oil and natural gas.
Many people think that the oil industry is getting rich at the expense of the public. The truth is that figuring either return on investment or percentage of profit based on the retail price, Oil Company profits are not out of line.
The Political Left is laying plans to impose wind-fall profits tax on oil companies. Senators Clinton & Obama have said that they want to take oil company profits & invest them in alternative energy. From the figures contained in the report referenced above, it’s obvious that alternative energy (Wind and Solar) are already heavily subsidized. Of course, without specifically so stating, the Left also envisioned raising the taxes on oil and gas to pay for the additional subsidies they would provide to ‘alternative’ energies.
Oddly, the Left has always opposed nuclear power, originally because it was related to nuclear weapons, secondarily because of Chernobyl; and they have long been against the coal industry because of scam of man-made Global Warming.
* See data cited in report at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/subsidy2/pdf/subsidy08.pdf
Page 106, table 35
Good stuff; thanks!
Ping to xcamel for your list regarding “sustainable” alternative engergy.