|
In 1997, congress OK'd drilling in ANWAR and Clinton killed it. There's a guy in Tucson that prides himself on the fact that he has stopped the construction of new refinery for 22 years. A windfall profits tax on oil companies will not produce a single drop of diesel or gasoline. In La Plata county, almost 70% of the property tax revenues were attributed to natural gas extraction. This year, that figure dropped to 60% and for the first time, my property taxes went UP. Too, have you checked the price of natural gas and propane lately?
While some are quick to blame the current administration for our energy woes, I'd rather blame well meaning environmentalists that don't understand the meaning of compromise. I suspect that Crawford Gene understands the costs of litigation better than most. I deeply resent outfits like the Sierra Club and others like them using the courts to get their point across. They use tax-exempt dollars to mount a lawsuit on an environmental issue. The cost of the litigation to the USFS or BLM includes bringing in retirees on a per diem basis to run the office while USFS/BLM staff take the time to provide paperwork for government lawyers defending their position.
For the record, the reported profits by Royal Dutch Shell amounted to a gross profit of about seven and a half percent. Out of that money, Shell has to pay taxes world wide plus pay out dividends to share holders. The press loves to take numbers out of context when it comes to oil company profits.
I suspect a lot of Airforum business owners would be hard pressed if their gross profits were only 7.5%. I have several trips planned this summer and I will use my Exxon dividends to pay for fuel!
|