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The Unpopular Truth About Oil Subsidies
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By CallToLiberty on 05/18/2011 05:20 AM |
The subject of oil subsidies is all the rage right now. Last night, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill that would end oil subsidies. It was a trial balloon, destined to fail, but strategically planned to try to besmirch the reputation of Senate Republicans who were predicted to vote against the bill's passage.
What is the truth about oil subsidies? Simply put, in our country, subsidies to oil companies are in the form of tax breaks. The American taxpayer does not give one dollar to oil companies, even though ardent supporters of ending oil subsidies often use terms like "taxpayer oil subsidies." The term, "subsidy," implies that money is paid. A tax break simply means that money is not paid to the government. Translation: the entity (in this case, the oil company) gets to keep more of its own money. It never belonged to the government or the taxpayer.
When a government begins to speak about money NOT received in taxes as a "subsidy," the people need to pay attention. When a government routinely views legally and privately earned profits that are NOT taxed as a short-changing of the government, then the people had better start getting nervous. When government representatives begin calling such tax breaks "stealing from the taxpayer," the people of a free nation should be very skeptical and, frankly, insulted. Those are serious accusations and loaded words designed to manipulate the people's opinion against a private enterprise. What enterprise will be next on the target list? Who, in this scenario, is really "stealing" money from whom? Are the oil companies illegally taking money from anyone? No. Is the government attempting to coerce the forking over of funds to itself by a private entity? Yes. Isn't that a definition of "stealing"?
Our government has no money but that which the people collectively contribute. Our government is owed no money, except that which the people agree to collectively pool together for common uses. When our nation's government begins to demand money from its citizens, there has been a serious shift in emphasis and understanding. The American people need to resist the efforts being made to turn their opinion against fellow citizens. Otherwise, they will vote on the side of government representatives to tax certain citizens unfairly. (Note: oil companies are already paying higher taxes than most business, plus one must consider environmental regulations, mandates, fines, penalties, etc. One oil company's taxes were reported to be 34 billion dollars in one year, twice the profits made for that year. Doesn't 34 billion dollars from one company to the government sound like enough?)
American citizens need to remember who is the boss. They are. A government that attacks its own private citizens and attempts to soil the reputation of lawful business enterprise within its jurisdiction has become tyrannical. That is more the style of the former Soviet Union, not the United States of America. The people under tyranny, if still possessing a measure of liberty and the wisdom to do so, should oppose that government and replace or reform it, so that the rights of citizens and their lawful activities will be properly respected and protected.
So don't be fooled. The Republican Senators did exactly the right thing last night. They protected fellow U.S. citizens from greater demands from our government on their income. In addition, they prevented a further rise in gas prices, since increasing taxes on the oil companies would surely be reflected at the pump sooner or later.
