April 24, 2005
Free Market Miracle #0020
Faced with soaring gasoline prices, Congress once again turned to energy legislation Wednesday intended to stimulate production of oil and gas while reducing consumption.A leading point of contention this time is over billions in subsidies and tax incentives for oil companies. [...]
The bill includes $2 billion to spur deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, $2 billion to help oil companies phase out production of the gasoline additive MTBE and more than $3 billion in tax incentives for oil and gas production and distribution.
The debate comes as oil companies are reporting record profits. Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. alone had a $25.3 billion profit in 2004, up from $21.5 billion the previous year.
[Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas] defended the measure by saying its cost was much less than the country's oil import bill of $166 billion last year."There's really no comparison," he said.
Do you ever get the feeling that most Congresspeople are very, very stupid? Of course you do. How's this for logic: private industry spends $166 Billion importing oil, and so taxpayer subsidies to those industries totting up to much less than $166 Billion are somehow justified on the grounds that they tot up to much less than $166 Billion?
Barton's certainly correct in stating that, "There's really no comparison." A shame, however, that he doesn't understand his own irony.
What doomed the bill in the past remains central in the House version: liability protection for the makers of MTBE, who are the target of lawsuits across the country brought by drinking water suppliers.Barton and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, say the petrochemical and oil companies that make MTBE as an additive for cleaner-burning gasoline should not be liable for leaking underground gasoline storage tanks.
Of course they shouldn't. Just as private industries shouldn't generally be held liable for the "externalised" costs of doing business which are passed on to the public.
Barton noted that the bill increases a clean-up fund collected from gasoline stations for leaking storage tanks.
Who wouldn't like a taxpayer-funded revenue stream to clean up their own mess? Works for me!
Posted by Eddie Tews at April 24, 2005 12:06 PM
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