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**xanonlinexan** · 05-22-2011, 10:31 PM

Full disclosure: the Forbes article is written by Robert L. Bradley Jr. is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research. Basically the boss of Senior Vice President Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research who was quoted in the 2nd post of this thread.

I still can’t find the YahooFinance chart quoted in Perry’s article but I have found many other reliable sources that ascertain the same figure. Which would lead to the question why is the US Gov. supporting an industry that is not that profitable?

Regarding the $0.48 of taxes per gallon of gas the major oil companies are paying, much of that goes to defend oil fields in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Not to mention the US Navy and Coast Guard which can be called upon to protect ships of major oil companies. And let’s keep things in perspective, I paid $3.91 per gallon today and $0.48 represents 12% in taxes. Seems very reasonable. I would enjoy paying that much in taxes.

While the pharma and soft drink industries are more profitable they represent much less risk from spills and to national security. The tax breaks the oil companies are getting might serve this country better in areas that are more profitable with lower risks.

In the Forbes article the higher cost is of oil (the recent 16% increase) is attributed to unrest in the Middle East and demand from China and India. I didn’t realize that the US and Canada (which represent about 80% of the oil consumed in the US) were exporting enough oil to India and China to cause a 31% increase at the pump (Gas Price Historical Price Charts - GasBuddy.com and some basic math), or that we imported oil from Libya? Otherwise the 16% increase is from imported oil which only represents about 20% of the oil used in the US which caused the 31% increase at the pump. Either there is a problem with numbers, which could be, or possibly a credibility problem of major oil companies.

As to investors, they seem to put their money in an industry that isn’t that profitable and one that needs assistance from the US Gov.

By giving the oil companies large tax breaks, grants and covering the cost of protecting the supply of Mideast oil the U.S. is upsetting the supply and demand equation by keeping prices at the pump low. With a potential cost of 3 Trillion (with a T) dollars the Iraq war hides the true cost of oil. I don't know if the recent uptick in prices was due to unrest in the Mideast or just testing the upper limits of price before demand drops. The Mideast is a quagmire and if we had been spending the war money on alternate production we may have been able to just pack up leave that hell hole. Our money also supports other countries such as China, Japan, Europe etc who have not had a military presence in the Mideast but have gotten the benefits of our spending and military lives lost.

Just food for thought, here is the link for the 3 Trillion cost of the Iraq adventure. We spend money to keep the cost low and demand high, this is not a good energy policy. Let the oil companies pay the bill to protect their investments and let the market determine if we want to remain dependent on Mideast oil. Some guesstimates figure the true cost of Mideast oil exceeds $9.00 a gal.

The Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much More - washingtonpost.com

05-22-2011, 10:31 PM	#10
xanonlinexan Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 623 Senior Member	Full disclosure: the Forbes article is written by Robert L. Bradley Jr. is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research. Basically the boss of Senior Vice President Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research who was quoted in the 2nd post of this thread. I still can’t find the YahooFinance chart quoted in Perry’s article but I have found many other reliable sources that ascertain the same figure. Which would lead to the question why is the US Gov. supporting an industry that is not that profitable? Regarding the $0.48 of taxes per gallon of gas the major oil companies are paying, much of that goes to defend oil fields in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Not to mention the US Navy and Coast Guard which can be called upon to protect ships of major oil companies. And let’s keep things in perspective, I paid $3.91 per gallon today and $0.48 represents 12% in taxes. Seems very reasonable. I would enjoy paying that much in taxes. While the pharma and soft drink industries are more profitable they represent much less risk from spills and to national security. The tax breaks the oil companies are getting might serve this country better in areas that are more profitable with lower risks. In the Forbes article the higher cost is of oil (the recent 16% increase) is attributed to unrest in the Middle East and demand from China and India. I didn’t realize that the US and Canada (which represent about 80% of the oil consumed in the US) were exporting enough oil to India and China to cause a 31% increase at the pump (Gas Price Historical Price Charts - GasBuddy.com and some basic math), or that we imported oil from Libya? Otherwise the 16% increase is from imported oil which only represents about 20% of the oil used in the US which caused the 31% increase at the pump. Either there is a problem with numbers, which could be, or possibly a credibility problem of major oil companies. As to investors, they seem to put their money in an industry that isn’t that profitable and one that needs assistance from the US Gov. By giving the oil companies large tax breaks, grants and covering the cost of protecting the supply of Mideast oil the U.S. is upsetting the supply and demand equation by keeping prices at the pump low. With a potential cost of 3 Trillion (with a T) dollars the Iraq war hides the true cost of oil. I don't know if the recent uptick in prices was due to unrest in the Mideast or just testing the upper limits of price before demand drops. The Mideast is a quagmire and if we had been spending the war money on alternate production we may have been able to just pack up leave that hell hole. Our money also supports other countries such as China, Japan, Europe etc who have not had a military presence in the Mideast but have gotten the benefits of our spending and military lives lost. Just food for thought, here is the link for the 3 Trillion cost of the Iraq adventure. We spend money to keep the cost low and demand high, this is not a good energy policy. Let the oil companies pay the bill to protect their investments and let the market determine if we want to remain dependent on Mideast oil. Some guesstimates figure the true cost of Mideast oil exceeds $9.00 a gal. The Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much More - washingtonpost.com
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