Buffalo Boy's Blog
Giving You More Than Just My Two Cents
Can't Blame Democrats
When you take all the non-action into consideration over the oil price spikes you can't blame the democrats. They tried to pass a bill that would put a wind fall profit tax on big oil. The Republicans voted it down.
Big oil should be taxed more heavily. They are taking huge profits, $36 BILLION in the first three months of this year alone in profit and doing what exactly? They are not using it to research and provide alternative fuels for us. I have never, not once, seen an ethanol pump or a hydrogen pump.
So where are these profits going? The American people should demand more from big oil and they should demand more from our government. Most of the taxes that they would be asked to pay would be putting back what was there before the Bush administration gave them tax breaks when he took office.
Republicans would argue that taxing big oil would result in higher prices at the pump because if you tax something they have to charge more for it. Well here comes my argument:
1. Even if you tax them say, 10%, thats about $4 billion out of the $36 billion profited. Im sure that they can survive with only $32 billion and not have to raise prices.
2. They have been given tax breaks already, 8 years of tax breaks under Bush and look where that has gotten us. If this is where prices have gone with those tax breaks, then tax the shit out of them.
In addition, these are not just oil companies, they are energy companies. At least thats what all their executives said at the senate hearings as the senators questioned them. They all said they were more than just oil companies. If thats the case, their responsibility is to develop alternatives that would replace the oil that George W. said we were addicted to.
If they are not responsible enough to do that with their profits then the government needs to stand up for the American people and do something to solve the problem. That is where the taxes from big oil should and probably will in part go to.
Lastly, each and every executive at that senate hearing forgot their salaries and each and every one of them conveniently forgot how much money their respective companies were spending on research and development of alternative energies. One executive and I believe it was Exxon Mobil said he believed it to be $20 million. Hes got to be kidding. They can spit $20 million for how much profit they take in. $20 million into research of alternative energy is NOTHING.
So, the Republicans should be feeling the heat from the American public after this latest vote and I hope the democrats keep their feet to the fire because to vote this down is disgusting. It shows just how deep the oil companies are into the GOP's pockets. Im sure every republican senator who voted this bill down got their pockets lined with big oil money.
Come November, big oil will not have Bush and his cronies in power and it will be a whole new ball game.
"Voters usually blame a poor economy on the party that controls the presidency, and there are few more potent reminders of hard economic times than the high cost of fuel at the pump. ... Thus far, it's McCain who has most suffered from that irritation. On an issue that three in four registered voters believe will be 'very important,'" it is the Republicans who are taking the heat. Now, I understand the theory that the party in power, the president, the executive gets the blame for all of these things. And the polling data in this story says that the Republicans are lagging Democrats by 15 points on energy, and McCain is even further behind the GOP than that
If this poll is accurate, what it means is that those of us who want to increase supply are getting blamed. Well, now, if the American people actually knew who wants to increase supply -- and by doing so, lower prices -- then they would also find out who is standing in opposition of all that. And it's our old buddy Chris Matthews that doesn't even know it's going on, and all of his leftist buddies who are doing everything they can to attack and shut down the US economy and its growth. So the party that's trying to do something about this -- the people trying to do something about it, to increase production -- are getting blamed for the problem when the problem exists primarily because of leftists, the last 30 years, who have done their best to shut down the domestic oil industry. Now, the Republicans are not sitting back. From the Cybercast News Service: "As expected, gasoline prices keep rising, and Republicans are placing the blame squarely on the Democrat-led Congress. Republicans apparently see 'pain at the pump' as a key election issue. ...
"House Republican leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called it 'insane' that the Democrat-led Congress is still refusing to allow increased production of American energy. 'Today marks another dubious day for this Do-Nothing Democratic Congress. On their watch, gas prices have soared to new heights, and by refusing to schedule a vote on a plan to increase American-made energy to help lower gas prices, congressional Democrats are complicit in this unprecedented surge in fuel costs,' Boehner said on Sunday. ... 'Every American has a right to ask: What will it take for the Democrat-controlled Congress to finally take action and help ease the pain of the Pelosi Premium on behalf of struggling families and small businesses? Speaker Pelosi has the power to schedule a vote on our plan to begin breaking America's costly dependence on foreign sources of energy. She should not wait another day to do so.'"
More than two years after Democrats promised to reveal their "commonsense" energy plan,' they finally unveiled it "minus the commonsense,"
the Democrats' response to record-high gas prices is predictable: "More taxes, more bureaucracy and continued dependence on OPEC. None of these proposals will lower the price at the pump; all will increase the strain on the family budget.
Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, agreed that the Democrats' plan will do nothing to lower gas prices.
"Americans don't need more taxes and more investigations -- they need more oil and lower prices. Yet nothing in the Democrats plan will produce a single drop of oil,"
"America has already tried a windfall profits tax -- and it hurt consumers by making us more dependent on foreign oil. Not only will this proposal not decrease gas prices, it may actually raise them. This is the exact wrong answer to a vitally important problem.
And deservedly so George, can you blame them? You can not dispute the FACT that Cheney and Bush both have incredible ties to oil. Cheney with Enron and Bush owned oil companies. They both have historys that suggest and have been proven to be in bed with big oil. The fact that democrats haven't gotten their energy plans through is a direct result of Bush sitting there vetoing everything that comes his way from the democrats. I don't think we would have any problem if we knew that they could safely drill for oil without creating environmental messes. They claim they can but again, this administrations history has been to ignore the environment and let industry do as they may.
Thank god the democrats do have control of the house and senate because they can block new drilling, they cannot however override a Bush veto as of yet.
Again, its more like repealing the tax breaks Bush gave them when he took office, Obviously the tax breaks he gave them did nothing! not a thing to promote new sources of energy, no alternatives to oil, and no price breaks as it is, so the option is to tax it and let our democratically controlled government as of November use those tax dollars toward research and developing new energy themselves.
This Windfall tax must have been during the Clinton administration because Bush gave industries including the big oil companies tax breaks when he took office. Those tax breaks are still in place today.
And, if I remember correctly, in 1999 at the end of Clinton's years in office, gas was in the 80-90 cent a gallon range with those windfall taxes in place.Try again George.
It's going to happen....The foundation to justify it is being layed in front of in gas prices and as you can read below even the government knows it needs to happen. Twice they have asked for the same information. One can only speculate what is going on on the hill behind closed doors where the spin cycle can't touch it
U.S. Policies Put Most U.S. Oil Off-Limits to Drilling
June 06, 2008
Huge basins of untapped oil can be found on federal lands throughout the United States, according to a new report from the federal government. But much of it cannot -- and may never be -- recovered, because it lies under national parks and national monuments, or it is subject to environmental laws and restrictions that make drilling prohibitive.
The report, which was produced at the request of Congress by the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), said there are 279 million acres under federal management where oil and gas could potentially could be extracted.
More than half of it is totally off-limits to drillers.
"The total onshore resource is 31 billion barrels," said BLM's lead scientist Richard Watson, who authored the report. "Of that, 19 billion barrels are currently inaccessible or 62 percent. A little over 2 billion barrels, or 8 percent, is accessible under what we call standard lease terms."
If you add in the 85.9 billion barrels of oil that lie offshore, as determined by the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, there are 117 billion barrels of oil on lands owned or managed by the U.S. government.
But all expansion of offshore oil recovery is currently off-limits.
Adding in what's available on privately held land, the figure rises to 139 billion barrels of oil, according to the government - more than the known oil reserves of Iran, Iraq, Russia, Nigeria or Venezuela, respectively.
The biggest untapped land-based oil deposit in the United States lies within ANWR, the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, which is currently off-limits.
"We estimate there is something on the order of 7.7 billion barrels in that one area alone," Watson told Cybercast News Service.
But setting aside Alaska, there is untapped oil on federal lands all across the United States, the government reported, with oil pockets found in Oregon, Washington state, Montana, Wyoming, Florida -- even in the Appalachian Mountains.
"In the lower 48 states, there are about 12 billion barrels onshore," Watson noted.
In California, for instance, where oil producers have been drilling for over 100 years, there are still large amounts available -- much of it situated near scenic Santa Barbara.
"In the Ventura basin, there are 281 million barrels under federal ownership," Watson said. "Forty-eight percent of that is inaccessible. The rest of it is accessible with varying restrictions on access."
Exploration restricted
What makes much of the California oil off-limits is the fact that the bulk of it lies under a national forest.
"You've got a wilderness area, a condor sanctuary, there are a couple of islands offshore that are part of a national park," Watson said.
Watson said Congress not only wanted to know how much oil there is on federal lands, it wanted to know what laws and regulations restrict exploration. Much of the oil is off-limits because of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.
Oil producers, meanwhile, say that even when these laws don't forbid drilling, they are sometimes onerous, making it very difficult -- or unprofitable -- to get to the oil.
"NEPA, for instance, was originally supposed to be focused only on major federal actions," said Dan Naatz, vice president of federal resources for the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
"But now, through court cases and regulatory rulings, it is to the point where basically anytime an oil or gas well is proposed on federal land, producers either have to do an environmental impact statement, or a environmental assessment to comply with NEPA," Naatz added.
If producers don't engage in the costly and complicated studies, they will end up in court, being sued by environmental groups, he said.
The report also noted that a large amount of oil -- a little over 9 billion barrels, or 30 percent of the total -- is available for tapping, with restrictions.
"These restrictions are usually in place to mitigate possible environmental damage or to prevent destruction of wildlife migration or nesting," Watson said.
One restriction is the "no-surface occupancy stipulation,"which means drillers are not actually allowed onto the protected land.
Naatz said producers could recover more of the oil, if they were allowed to use directional drilling more often, which is frequently limited by regulations.
With directional drilling, producers obtain the rights to drill on land adjacent to the forbidden turf, drill down a short way, then drill horizontally - if they are allowed to.
"Directional drilling has revolutionized the industry," he said. "You don't ever want to tap into other areas that are not your property, but directional drilling has allowed the industry to reduce its footprint. From one well-pad, you can get a number of wells drilled."
Another obstacle the report noted is the process of obtaining drilling permits, Naatz said.
"The permitting process is very slow, very cumbersome," he said. "What happens is that the window of opportunity to operate on some lands is very limited. Usually you are talking about areas where they have winter-use restrictions, where there can be no activity, to allow for migratory birds or animals."
In many cases, Naatz said, the window for drilling narrows to as little as one month a year.
"In the oil and gas business, that makes it virtually impossible to access those areas," he added.
Environmental groups like the Sierra Club, meanwhile, are largely dismissive of the BLM report.
"It appears to be more of same kind of thing we've had all along from the Bush administration, which wants to exploit the land, rather than protect it," noted Kristina Johnson, a Sierra Club spokeswoman.
In 2000 and again in 2005, Congress passed laws requiring the Department of Interior to inventory the oil resources that could be found both onshore and offshore in U.S. territory - and any restrictions which bar their recovery.
Your above argument is very weak to say the least and your point is lost.
Jeff,
here are some numbers for you, the US uses roughly 20 million barrels per day.
Even if you tap ANWAR they say that it would take them two years to start getting anything, and 10 years to be fully online.
In the meantime, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and all the major oil supplies are well past peak. At top production ANWAR is only putting out 780,000 barrels per day, thats in 10 years, if there is what they are saying there is up there. There is still no guarantee.
The oil companies are not stupid. They want us to continue using the stuff, and do you really want them drilling for oil in Yellowstone National Park? Do you really want them drilling offshore from beaches that people frequent around the coastal United States putting our fisheries at risk? Im sorry, but as I have said previously, there are alternatives, Brazil, Iceland, Nigeria, are all countries that have or are on their way to energy independence without using oil as a main ingredient either in transportation or home needs.
Unless, environmental regulations are followed to a tee, I don't want them drilling near our national landmarks. You are willing to deface our national treasures for a few more drops of oil?
If we use 20 million a day, what is 780,000 barrels really going to do from ANWAR when the rest of the world is in decline in terms of production?
The answer is decreasing our use of the stuff first, developing alternatives second, and only if we need it, drill for more and then and only then we should do it in a manner that is not going to leave a footprint.
Read and think. try to look at the bigger picture. Stop watching 24/7 news channels for your info. They make you sound like an ass.
Look at history. Your point is lost. Don't assume because assumptions are wrong 99% of the time. It was not Clinton. Open you mind if even just a little. Cherish your past but try to understand that many are pulling the strings. Stop letting the mass media think for you. You are an individual who I assume since you can type has half a brain.
Look at history. Your point is lost. Don't assume because assumptions are wrong 99% of the time. It was not Clinton. Open you mind if even just a little. Cherish your past but try to understand that many are pulling the strings. Stop letting the mass media think for you. You are an individual who I assume since you can type have half a brain.
China's Drilling for Oil in America's Backyard
June 11, 2008
House Republicans want the American people to know that right now -- around 60 miles off the coast of Key West, Fla. -- China is drilling for oil, thanks to a lease issued by Cuba.
But 1,200 miles north of Key West, Democrats in Washington are blocking the United States from conducting its own environmentally-safe oil and gas exploration in similar U.S. coastal areas, said a news release from House Republican leader John Boehner's office.
"By prohibiting the United States from taking part in the same type of energy exploration that the Chinese are conducting just miles off our shores, the Democratic Majority on Capitol Hill continues to prove itself complicit in an energy crisis that has saddled American families and small businesses with gas prices that have reached $4.05 per gallon today," the news release said.
"Do congressional Democrats actually believe China has more ingenuity and more concern for the environment than the United States?" Republicans asked.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department said gasoline prices are expected to remain close to $4 a gallon through 2009.
Republicans are pushing an energy plan that would expand domestic oil exploration and production; encourage the opening of new American oil refineries; and invest in alternative energy sources such as wind, nuclear, and captured carbon dioxide.
Drill here, drill now
In a related story, a group that advocates domestic oil drilling says it has gathered more than half a million signatures on a 'Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less' petition.
The group American Solutions for Winning the Future, chaired by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, says it launched the petition drive a few weeks ago.
The petition reads: "We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices (and diesel and other fuel prices) by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries."
"Hard-working American families are struggling to pay the soaring prices for gas, diesel, food, electricity, and everything else affected by the high price of oil," said Dave Ryan, American Solutions' executive director. "The voices of more than half a million Americans are united in demanding that Congress offer real solutions to our energy challenges, starting with taking immediate action to drill here and drill now."
American Solutions said it plans to deliver 3 million signatures to both parties at their national conventions.