Free enterprise my ass!

[SamIam]

I generally dislike long cut and pastes, but this article has made me so angry that I am breaking my own rule. Whatever big oil may be, it is not a bastion of free enterprise.

From the Seattle Times:

When the Deepwater Horizon disaster set off the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the drilling platform was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Registering there allowed the rig's owner to significantly reduce its U.S. taxes.

Wouldn’t want to have the integrity to be responsible for paying taxes that might help clean up the mess they caused.

At the same time, BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig. According to a letter sent in June to the Senate Finance Committee, the company used a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon, a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began.

I presume that this means BP was paid $225,000/day to create the worst oil spill the Gulf has ever seen. Where’s George Orwell when we need him?

An examination of the U.S. tax code indicates oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses, with tax breaks available at virtually every stage of the exploration and extraction process.

This sounds like welfare for the oil business to me. People scream bloody murder that a single mother and her children may get a little government help, but if your initials are BP or that of any other oil conglomerate, the more money the tax payer shells out the better.

Some government watchdog groups say that only the industry's political muscle is preserving the tax breaks. An economist for the Treasury Department said in 2009 that a study had found that oil prices and potential profits were so high that eliminating the subsidies would decrease U.S. output by less than half of 1 percent.

No fucking comment. Sensitive dwellars, please advert your eyes.

More and more and more:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._oiltax04.html

[Nirvana]

I thought you were opening a new business

[jinx]

[spudcon]

Do away with the tax code, and all those problems would go away.

[classicman]

I knew that looked familiar .. it was in the NYT.

[HungLikeJesus]

And people complain when renewable energy projects (solar, wind, etc.) are given subsidies! I wonder how the economics would look if all technologies were evaluated without government incentives.

[classicman]

I think the subsidies should be moreso for creating new valid renewable energy sources.

I wonder how the economics would look if all technologies were evaluated without government incentives.

Good question.

[squirell nutkin]

You'll love my new plan!
http://www.cellar.org/showthread.php?t=23097

[jinx]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

I wonder how the economics would look if all technologies were evaluated without government incentives.

I wonder how the grocery store would look.

[squirell nutkin]

Originally Posted by jinx

I wonder how the grocery store would look.

Whole Foods would change its name to Whole Paycheck for starters.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by SamIam

I generally dislike long cut and pastes, but this article has made me so angry that I am breaking my own rule. Whatever big oil may be, it is not a bastion of free enterprise.

Wouldn’t want to have the integrity to be responsible for paying taxes that might help clean up the mess they caused.

Sam that is no different than probably 90% of all shipping in the US. All the boats are "Flagged" in other countries for the same reasons.

[richlevy]

What's amazing is that after the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster in the North Sea that killed 167 workers, all companies operating on European leases had to conform to stringent safety standards, no matter what flag they were flying. This includes BP. So BP has one set of standards for operating in Europe and one set for operating in the U.S. And when they went on a cost cutting binge that included safety standards and personnel, they were able to cut much deeper in the U.S.

That asshat in Congress should be apologizing to me for letting them slide like that.

[classicman]

Aren't there different laws in every country? Why would you expect this to be any different?

[squirell nutkin]

Originally Posted by classicman

Aren't there different laws in every country? Why would you expect this to be any different?

I think there is the element of common sense and "what's good for the herd."

As an example, Lead was outlawed as an additive to residential paints in France one hundred years before it was outlawed here. It was outlawed as an additive (sweetener and preservative) in wine nearly a hundred years before that.

Safety laws probably shouldn't be equated with laws regarding regional morals or dress. If something is deadly it kills pretty much across the board.

Your argument reads more like "Profit is more important the human lives and just because the EU values human lives more than we do, doesn't mean we should consider that in our decision making."

What's your opinion on drinking and driving? Up until 1979 it was ok to have an open container in your car in Vermont, and when I drove through Montana there were plenty of "Drive Through" bars. 'Six Gin and Tonics to go please.'

It was the insurance companies who pushed for the legal reform however, as they saw from their actuarial tables that sober people behind the wheel were much more profitable.

[classicman]

I didn't mean it to read that way at all. I was just saying that different countries have different laws.