Oil Company freeloaders to go before Senate and beg them not to cut off their welfare benefits

[marmar]

Exxon, Conoco Chiefs to Face U.S. Senators on Taxes
By Brian Wingfield - May 10, 2011 8:46 PM ET


Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s chairman and chief executive officer, and his counterparts at ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp. (CVX) will be quizzed by U.S. senators on a Democratic proposal to end industry tax breaks.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, called officials from five oil companies to testify before his panel on May 12. In addition to Tillerson, James Mulva of ConocoPhillips and John Watson of Chevron, the panel will hear from Marvin Odum, chief of U.S. operations for Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), and H. Lamar McKay, who plays a comparable role for BP Plc (BP/), the committee said today in a statement.

.....(snip).....

Republican lawmakers and oil company spokesmen have said ending the tax benefits will backfire, producing higher prices and less supply.

“Discriminatory taxes would put U.S.-based energy companies at a competitive disadvantage around the world and discourage development of domestic oil and gas resources,” Lloyd Avram, a Chevron spokesman, said in an e-mail. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-11/exxon-conoco-chiefs-to-face-u-s-senators-on-oil-industry-taxes.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Higher prices?

Jeez...how could they be any higher?

It's way past due time for those thieves to pay up.

I hope they squirm at the hearing.

[shraby]

2. Why do they need a hearing? Do they give the old people

a hearing before they decide that taking away Social Security, Medicare, and for the poor Medicaid any hearing before deciding to slash the money?

[PsychGrad]

13. Great point!!!!!

[Angry Dragon]

3. Nationalize them

claim national security

[notesdev]

4. The only way this could pass the House

is if it were part of some populist policy to nix tax breaks for heavy hitters across the board (here's lookin' at you, GE!)

I wouldn't mind seeing that happen. Let's get an even playing field.

[jp11]

5. "Discrimiatory taxes would put U.S.-based energy companies at a competitive disadvantage..."

HOW? By not handing them free money to add to their profits? that is 'discriminatory'? Isn't it 'discriminatory' that THEY are so special to get these tax breaks? That is just BS for 'we want to keep taking your money and adding it to our profits, if you stop giving us money we will do whatever it takes to keep making record profits, including price gouging as we're accustomed to these kinds of profits'. Sounds like we need to end the tax breaks and create new laws to control their pricing or nationalize them for our own interest.

[moparlunatic]

6. One way or another,

we are going to eat that increase, you watch.

[JDPriestly]

7. They need to start paying their way. And we need to get

off oil as much as possible. With the money we spend on subsidies we could revamp our energy economy to make us self-sustaining as a country and get rid of a lot of the pollution that is ruining the earth and making us sick.

[moparlunatic]

8. that sounds awesome,

What form of energy would we use right now. I am getting buried with the price of gas now and can't afford much more. I'm all for alternatives but I don't see anything replacing gas in the near future.

[JDPriestly]

12. We need solar, wind and tidal power to produce electricity, and

then we need to switch to smaller (yet), lighter, electric cars.

It is coming. The Volt is out there, and there are other prototypes being developed.

But we need a program that really encourages people to invest in solar panels on their homes and produce their own electricity.

Can you imagine how much electricity we could produce in Southern California with solar panels?

And in rainier areas, wind power should be better used. We could probably use our water/dam power more efficiently too.

[Name removed]

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[applegrove]

10. They've got an ad on the tv, whining!!

[global1]

11. Just Ask One Question And Have Each Of Them Answer It.......

You are making record profits each quarter - why do you need a tax break?

[Volaris]

14. calling them to "testify" is like putting a kid up there

and then asking them to express their feelings on getting less candy at Halloween....you don't ASK them what THEY think is best, you just DO it and fuck 'em if they don't like it, ...WHY does this even need to be done, except for the purpose of putting this kind of Grand Larceny on display for the Public (which I'm FINE with)? Otherwise, all it does is to give them an opportunity to lie to us and tell us how important they are.