In 2011 the US government gave $2 billion in subsidies to the five largest oil companies! In 2011 Democrats in Congress tried to end those subsidies. Republicans in Congress blocked the efforts to end the subsidies. Those same five oil companies made $137 billion in profits in 2011!
The current manufactured political football is called high gas prices! First of all, where the hell is Occupy Wall Street? Go occupy the gas pumps. Stand outside the gas stations of America and tell the American public the truth about high gas prices. Gas prices are high because greedy oil companies raised the prices during a recession when a majority of the American public are hurting. The only way high gas prices has anything to do with politics is the fact that the government refuses to put a cap on prices at the pump.
Gas prices are not high because of low domestic production! Domestic production is up! Gas prices are high because profits in the oil industry are at levels that can only be described as reprehensible! Gas prices are high because there are no price regulations and this is what happens when "the market" is left to decide without regulations. The high prices are directly related to Wall Street speculation! They have absolutely nothing to do with present reality!
If you are hurting because of high gas prices, direct your anger at the oil industry! If you think the government has failed you on this subject, then do your homework and direct your anger at those who have blocked efforts to end oil subsidies, at those who delay transition to alternative energy sources!
The major difference between the 2012 election and all previous elections is the unbelievable transparency of dysfunction in our political process. It's up to the voters! Will we be pawns of our inept media's sound bites, or will we get smart and take back our country?
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Michael Luick-Thrams
Cenk Uygur
mlambere
Jacob Sugarman
k.e. loe
Elizabeth Blessing
Salon.com
Comments
This was seen coming as easily as it is to see the etch-a-sketches flowing into the hands of Gingrich and Santorum supporters.
The real reason behind this, I suspect, has more to do with driving the development of natural gas than anything.
Where both parties agree, I smell a rat.
A big Fracking rat.
Our nation's water resources will be corrupted beyond all reason as Big Oil breaks apart the ground and poisons us all in the name of 'alternative' energy, all while clean, radioactive waste free Fusion limps along with little or no attention and 'battery' technology continues to be a focus over supercapacitors.
It's a wild ride, and as long as we're caught up in the fear of higher prices and looking anywhere for a savior, Big Oil will chug right along into another non-renewable, Earth destroying scheme hailed as 'freedom.'
Then again, I could be wrong. Good to see you by the way!
Rated!
In the gas prices "debate," those ideas are repeated despite the fact that many of the journalists and pundits actually know the truth, and have said that the president has no power over gas prices to defend Republican presidents.
In fact, you can go to Comedy Central and see Jon Stewart use one of the Fox talking heads to prove that point whenever he talks about it. There's a brilliant sound byte in which one of them (maybe Bill O' Reilly) says that anyone who starts blaming the president (it was probably Bush then) for gas prices is talking a buncha bull.
Jon has been wondering why Fox isn't singing that tune right now--or pretending to wonder. We KNOW why, right?