Dissing On Big Oil And Other Topics

I'm getting a lot of emails from organizations protesting oil companies big profits and grab for more land to drill. The following from the Sierra Club.

August 19, 2008: In This Edition of the Insider Stand Up to Big Oil!

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The Drill of It All
Did you know that oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of leases that they aren't even drilling? Which kind of makes you wonder: Why are Big Oil and its allies suddenly desperate to get their hands on the last few places that are still protected -- our natural treasures, wildlife refuges, and pristine coastlines? They wouldn't use the concerns caused by high gas prices as an excuse to grab it ALL, would they?

Check out our map showing how much of our country Big Oil has already got and spread the word by forwarding it to friends who agree: Enough is enough.

So far, one woman has stood up to Big Oil. Let's thank Speaker Pelosi for keeping a cool head and holding out for real solutions.

Moveon.org sent one on ExxonMobil's big $13.5 tax break:

Right now, even as they make the biggest profits in American history, oil companies like ExxonMobil are getting $13.5 billion in tax breaks.
But in September, all that could change. Democratic leaders in Congress are bringing a bill to the floor that would strip these tax giveaways. Which means that solar and wind power would have more of a fair chance against big oil on the free market.
Of course, some Republicans are trying to block this from happening--oil and gas companies overwhelmingly support Republic candidates. So we need to make a lot of noise if we want Congress to listen.

They go on to urge voters to make their voice heard with by signing a petition that calls for "No more tax breaks for big oil companies. Invest this money in clean energy sources like solar and wind instead."

And it's not just Big Oil getting big tax breaks. Fuse recently sent an email: Close corporate buyouts tax loophole

It's so beyond the pale that it almost sounds like an internet hoax, but unfortunately its true. The "Buyout Billionaires" tax loophole allows wealthy buyout CEOs to pay a lower tax rate than regular folks like teachers, nurses and firefighters.

Using loopholes in the tax code, the titans of the buyout industry manage to amass incredible personal fortunes while their companies pay a lower tax rate than working class citizens. We believe these kinds of abuses undermine the basic notion of fairness that our tax system should be based on, as well as our country's economic health.


I couldn't agree more.

Finally this from a recent issue of Parade Magazine, The World's Richest Nation?

Despite what the Presidential candidates are saying, America is not the world's richest nation. If you run the numbers, Switzerland has a higher median household income ($62,000, compared on our $48,000). And, at $44,000, our per capita GDP (the amount of national income generated per citizen) has fallen to third: The tiny nation of Luxenborg leads the way, with $78,000; Norway is second, with $52,000. Last year, the number of millionaires in China, Russia, and India grew aster than in the U.S.

Income inequality also is greater in the U.S. than in other developed nations, and some economist believe that makes us more vulnerable to hitting the skids than the rest of the world. "Low-wealth children are unlikely to become high-wealth adults, while high-wealth children are very likely to become high-wealth adults," says Dalton Conley of the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank. That should sound alarms for policymakers."

One more article in the Seattle Times: Economy punches hole into American Dream, Standard of living hasn't risen in 5 years for majority polled, worry over kids' future.

Work hard, play by the rules and tomorrow will be better than today. That implicit promise has been at the core of American experience through good times and bad.

But now, whipsawed by plummeting home values, $4-a-gallon gas, rising food prices and gyrating financial markets, Americans increasingly fear that the national bargain has unraveled, that their once-steady march toward affluence has derailed.

And news that confirms everyone's suspicion that the few (corporate executives) are robbing their corporations, their workers, and the rest of American citizens, this from the Seattle Times Business section:

CEO Pay/ The Northwest's five top-paid CEOs last year received compensation worth a combined $93 million; however, the median bonus was down 16 percent, a reflection of the economic slowdown.

It occurs to me that while these CEOs are making obscene amounts of money in flagrant disregard to the well being of their employees, but also to the health of the economy, at the same time they are shipping jobs overseas in the interest of cost cutting and making other countrymen very wealthy. Where is the outrage, I ask, and so does a Wall Street Journal article: Why No Outrage. Through history, outrageous financial behavior has been met with outrage. But today Wall Street's damaging recklessness has been met with near-silence, from a too-tolerant populace argues James Grant. (WSJ, Weekend Journal, July 19-20, 2008)

'Nuff said.