The Tea Parties sprang to life after seeing cyincal politicians advance their own agenda that most Americans knew wouldn’t work, but damn the people, the politicians plowed ahead. It was about the time of the great stimulus program that we were told (and didn’t believe) the program would cap unemployment at 8% for the mere cost of nearly $1 trillion. If we didn’t act, the politicians somberly pronounced, we would face the dire situation of 9% unmployment.
New York Congressman Tim Bishop has introduced “The Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act,” which could be said is cynicism on steroids. Let’s start with the title. Does Mr. Bishop really believe that oil companies are receiving welfare? Welfare as most honest people know is where the government gives people money who are not working. It takes little questioning to figure out that is not happening in the case of the oil companies but, hey, lying works. Tim Bishop just ran his entire reelection campaign on personal attacks on his opponent rather than running on his record, so lies and distortion are his specialty. Let’s break it down.
What he wants to do is eliminate a tax break, not a subsidy, that the oil companies receive which equates to 6% of the income they get from domestic oil production. I am all for simplifying the tax code and eliminating all loopholes and at the same time reducing tax rates so on balance it is revenue neutral. But why stop with the five biggest oil companies? What about eliminating subsidies for ethanol? Wind? Solar? Crops? Electric cars? Mortgages? Uh, those wouldn’t be cool with the people Bishop needs to reelect him, but Big Oil, yeah everybody can hate Big Oil!
Bishop goes on to say that the extra revenue from the oil companies by eliminating the tax break will reduce the deficit by $13 billion over ten years or doing the math about $1.3 billion for one year which is 0.08% of the current one year deficit of $1.6 trillion. So, Mr. Bishop is cyinically trying to show he is concerned about the debt, and yet he voted against the Ryan budget proposal that would save $6 trillion; deficit reduction to Tim Bishop has to be symbolic not serious or real.
Lies, Lies and more Lies
Mr. Bishop, on his own website, says the following:
- I’m outraged that at $4 a gallon, Americans are still paying twice for gas: once at the pump and once on tax day,” said Congressman Bishop. “Borrowing money to pay Exxon-Mobil to drill for oil they have every incentive to drill for already is Exhibit A for wasteful government spending.”
- Repealing the oil industry’s tax subsidies will not impact gas prices for American consumers.
- Bishop unveiled the bill at the Patchogue Village Department of Public Works facility on Waverly Avenue, which houses the gas pumps used by village, school, and fire district vehicles. He was joined by Village Mayor Paul Pontieri, who described the effect high gas prices have on the Village’s budget.
These three bullets were from the same post on his website! He begins by saying he is outraged by the price of gasoline at $4 a gallon. He then says that his proposal will not affect gas prices. Then he uses the poor Patchogue Village mayor as a prop, to unveil his plan that Bishop says won’t do a damn thing to solve the mayor’s problems. Do you wonder why Americans hate politicians?
Bishop is right about the gas prices. Exxon makes a profit of about $0.07 per gallon of gasoline. Bishop’s proposal will affect 6% of the profits they make on domestic production. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out at 6% of $0.07 is about half a cent per gallon. So why all the hoopla other than to create a false impression that this congressman is actually earning his $176,000 salary. That’s why Americans hate politicians.
Let’s move onto the next lie, paying the oil companies on tax day. With Memorial Day approaching we will be seeing a lot of sales from merchants. If you go to Lowe’s to buy that new grill and they advertise 10% off for Memorial Day, does the cashier reach into the drawer, take out some cash and give it to you? No. Ten percent off means you pay ten percent less. You do not come home with a grill and more money in your pocket than when you left the house. The same applies to taxes. Any tax break means you pay less in taxes, the government doesn’t pay you. The government doesn’t have any money except what it gets from you. That’s how it works. So tax cuts are where you get to keep more of your own property. It is not a payment from the government, it is not a cost to the government, IT’S NOT THE GOVERNMENT’S MONEY, it’s your money.
Okay, gas is expensive, so what do we do about that? Many on the right have said we should increase domestic production. So what does Tim Bishop do? His proposal is to remove a tax incentive on domestic production. That seems counterproductive. He also said he just voted against expediting domestic drilling permits. It would almost seem that Bishop wants to increase our dependency on foreign oil. He then goes on to say in a C-SPAN interview that domestic production is at an all time high, and that the oil companies have plenty of leases and they should just drill on the leases that they have.
The problem is that it takes about sixty leases to get one with a productive discovery of oil. What Mr. Bishop only mentions in passing is the value of the dollar as a contributing factor in the price of gasoline. I suggest that it is a more serious relationship than that and who has been destroying the value of the dollar by printing money and spending it like crazy? It was Tim Bishop who voted for the stimulus that accomplished nothing. Nancy Pelosi ran up the debt $5 trillion during her tenure as Speaker and Tim Bishop voted with her 97% of the time. Now he proposes meaningless legislation just to get some campaign sound bites, because attacking Big Oil is good politics. That’s why Americans hate politicians. They want their elected representatives to do things that work, not things that get the politicians another two years on the government’s payroll.
Here Mr. Bishop let’s his fig leaf slip and reveals his socialist leanings:
He noted that while continuing to enjoy the subsidy, the largest five oil producers have directed the lion’s share of their profits into dividends and stock buy-backs.
Think about the local green grocer. If he has a good year and he makes a profit, maybe he decides to put that profit into the bank. Would Tim Bishop object to that? Okay, who owns the oil companies? The stockholders. Mr. Bishop is basically saying that the people, maybe even a certain green grocer, who invested their hard earned money are not entitled to any of the profits from the oil companies they own in the form of dividends. They are not allowed to sell some of their stock back to the company in the form of a stock buyback so they can invest their money elsewhere. Perhaps some of those oil company owners are retirees who bought the oil company stocks for the dividends and because they believed the oil companies will be around for some time to come. Perhaps they don’t believe that Social Security is such a swell deal; few ponzi schemes are. Mr. Bishop takes exception to them getting a dividend increase now and then. In his twisted understanding of economics or lack thereof, the oil companies should be taxed more, its owners receive no profits, plow all profits back into exploration and development, and sell their product for less money, while he and his cohorts spend every last dollar that this country produces, to keep themselves in office, and have a claim on everything you own, except that which Mr. Bishop decides you can keep. But whatever you do, don’t call them socialists.
And that’s why Americans hate politicians.
That’s my opinion; I’d like to know yours. Please comment below.