Greed Is Good

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Well George W. Bush is at it again. Trying to give the American public an impression of what he is doing in a nice speech, then he does basically the opposite in his actions.

The oil industry is a great example, with the major oil corporations reporting the largest profits of any corporation in the history of the world and gas prices in the US spiking to the highest in history, the Bush administration is seeking to kill the windfall profits tax proposed for the oil industry, so rather than share some of their massive profits with those people paying the high gas prices and most of the federal taxes in the US, they take the $5 Billion and stuff it in their pockets while most of the US labors under high prices and falling wages.

And as if that weren't enough one of the fine oil corporate citizens, Kerr-McGee Exploration and Development has brought a court challenge that if successful would cost US taxpayers another $28 Billion in oil royalties over the next 5 years. This coming on the heels of 2005 profits of $2,532,700,000 which represents over 100% increase over 2004. Yes Greed Is Good

While Bush cries on behalf of the over taxed oil corporations he designs tax breaks for, if we look at the reality of the situation. In 1940 corporations and individual taxpayers paid an equal amount in federal income taxes. But today in the face of massively growing corporate profits and steadily falling personal incomes the tax burden has shifted to so corporations now pay only 13.7% of the federal income taxes and individuals taxpayers cough up the remaining 86.3%. (Business Week reported).

As if the massive profits, partially due to gouging American gas consumers, are not enough and the huge tax breaks already set up for his oil friends by Bush just doesn't fill their sugar bowl, now the slick oil president sits back and watches as a policy set up under Clinton to encourage oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico during a period of low oil prices turns into a windfall of $7 Billion more dollars to the oil companies with the hugely inflated oil prices. $7 Billion lost to US taxpayers and in fact an amount equal to the amount Bush cut from the student loan fund. We know how unimportant education is in America. Yes Greed Is Good

And since we all know that all this money is just not enough for the long suffering oil companies the Bush administration has exempted oil and gas corporations from some clean-water laws, streamlines permits for oil wells and power lines on public lands (expanding corporate rights to eminent domain) and helps the hydropower industry appeal environmental restrictions

Another $14.5 billion in tax breaks will go to the producers of oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power.

There will be another $500 million in subsidies over a 10-year period, with an option to double that amount for research into deep-water oil and gas drilling, a grant that many politicos expect to go to the Texas Energy Center in Tom DeLay's home town of Sugar Land.

Even though there has been substantial advancement in fuel efficiency technology, average fuel economy has dropped in the last 24 years. The United States averaged only 20.8 mpg for 2004 model cars and light trucks. That is six percent below the peak of 22.1 mpg that was attained in 1987 and 1988.

The lost of fuel efficiency is reflects the Bush Administration’s opposition to proposals that would increase fuel economy. Bush prefers to give billions to his oil wealthy friends and leave the individual taxpayer, who carries over 86% of the tax burden, the most massive national debt in the history of this country.

The Energy Information Administration found that the current energy bill would increase imports of foreign oil by 85 percent by 2025.

Since two-thirds of oil consumed in the US goes to transportation it would seem the best way to reduce our dependence on oil and save consumers money at the pump is to make cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline.

But since the motto of the Bush administration is Greed Is Good, I think we will only see massive amounts of money funneled to the pockets of his oil wealthy friends.