And President Obama, to mitigate political fallout, embarked this month on a four-state swing to promote his "all of the above" energy strategy, a broadly supported approach to increasing domestic development of natural gas, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and yes, oil.
But if the president has begun to or at least talk about some moderate sensibilities on domestic energy production, he hasn't changed a bit on tax policy.
Every policy and campaign speech the president has given since taking office, if it mentioned energy, has argued for higher taxes on American energy companies.
He frames the issue as a zero sum game — either the oil companies win, or the American people win, but never both.
"You can either stand up for the oil companies, or you can stand up for the American people," said President Obama recently.
He routinely calls on Congress to repeal what he mischaracterizes as "subsidies" and "handouts" to the U.S. oil and gas sector. Oil companies, he argues, simply aren't paying their fair share.
But American oil companies don't receive special subsidies or handouts. Deductions and credits available to oil and gas companies are no different than deductions and credits available to other industries. In fact, the industry generates $86 million in tax revenue every day for the federal government.
More than nine million American jobs exist today because of U.S. oil and gas companies.
Boosting The Economy
Last year, the largest American-owned energy company, ExxonMobil, reported operating earnings of $9.6 billion.
In the same 12-month period, it contributed seven times that amount to the U.S. economy, including $72 billion in taxes, contracts with hundreds of manufacturing and service companies around the country, and dividends to millions of Americans invested in pension funds, IRAs and mutual funds.
By any objective standard, the net contributions American-owned energy companies make to the economy at large are good for the American people.
The president must focus on rising gas prices; they are hurting him politically. But more important, they are taking a toll on American families.
According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, two-thirds of Americans are very concerned about rising gas prices, and about half of Americans believe prices will continue to rise. Stabilizing them is an important step in shoring up consumer confidence.
But populist demagoguery — the president claims credit for higher domestic oil and gas production, faster leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and on shore — none of which had anything to do with his policies.
He continues to blame the Bush administration for some of today's problems and continues to blame the companies for raising prices, and for not contributing "their fair share" to the economy and to tax revenues (and thus blames them for failures by "green energy" companies despite their subsidies, loans, grants and other special treatment).
All Pain, No Gain
That approach will not lower prices nor ease pain at the pump, and Americans will recognize this as just one more false narrative from the president.
To the contrary: the administration's proposed $85 billion tax hike on American energy companies will reduce investment in American energy and make American companies less competitive.
Those things will make the country more reliant on foreign imports and more susceptible to prices spikes.
Is this what he means by his "all of the above energy policy?"
Instead of demonizing the oil and gas industry, the president would do well to recognize its importance to any logical energy plan, both for consumers and the economy.
As the old adage cautions, don't kill the goose that lays a golden egg.
• Rafuse, a former energy adviser in the Nixon administration, now heads the Rafuse Organization, an independent consultancy on energy, trade and security issues.
http://news.investors.com/article/605754/201203271822/scapegoating-big-oil-no-solution.htm?p=2
But if the president has begun to or at least talk about some moderate sensibilities on domestic energy production, he hasn't changed a bit on tax policy.
Every policy and campaign speech the president has given since taking office, if it mentioned energy, has argued for higher taxes on American energy companies.
He frames the issue as a zero sum game — either the oil companies win, or the American people win, but never both.
"You can either stand up for the oil companies, or you can stand up for the American people," said President Obama recently.
He routinely calls on Congress to repeal what he mischaracterizes as "subsidies" and "handouts" to the U.S. oil and gas sector. Oil companies, he argues, simply aren't paying their fair share.
But American oil companies don't receive special subsidies or handouts. Deductions and credits available to oil and gas companies are no different than deductions and credits available to other industries. In fact, the industry generates $86 million in tax revenue every day for the federal government.
More than nine million American jobs exist today because of U.S. oil and gas companies.
Boosting The Economy
Last year, the largest American-owned energy company, ExxonMobil, reported operating earnings of $9.6 billion.
In the same 12-month period, it contributed seven times that amount to the U.S. economy, including $72 billion in taxes, contracts with hundreds of manufacturing and service companies around the country, and dividends to millions of Americans invested in pension funds, IRAs and mutual funds.
By any objective standard, the net contributions American-owned energy companies make to the economy at large are good for the American people.
The president must focus on rising gas prices; they are hurting him politically. But more important, they are taking a toll on American families.
According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, two-thirds of Americans are very concerned about rising gas prices, and about half of Americans believe prices will continue to rise. Stabilizing them is an important step in shoring up consumer confidence.
But populist demagoguery — the president claims credit for higher domestic oil and gas production, faster leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and on shore — none of which had anything to do with his policies.
He continues to blame the Bush administration for some of today's problems and continues to blame the companies for raising prices, and for not contributing "their fair share" to the economy and to tax revenues (and thus blames them for failures by "green energy" companies despite their subsidies, loans, grants and other special treatment).
All Pain, No Gain
That approach will not lower prices nor ease pain at the pump, and Americans will recognize this as just one more false narrative from the president.
To the contrary: the administration's proposed $85 billion tax hike on American energy companies will reduce investment in American energy and make American companies less competitive.
Those things will make the country more reliant on foreign imports and more susceptible to prices spikes.
Is this what he means by his "all of the above energy policy?"
Instead of demonizing the oil and gas industry, the president would do well to recognize its importance to any logical energy plan, both for consumers and the economy.
As the old adage cautions, don't kill the goose that lays a golden egg.
• Rafuse, a former energy adviser in the Nixon administration, now heads the Rafuse Organization, an independent consultancy on energy, trade and security issues.
http://news.investors.com/article/605754/201203271822/scapegoating-big-oil-no-solution.htm?p=2
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