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Originally Posted by dc_dux
The best example is probably the various provisions in the 05 energy bill that provide relief from royalty payments for drilling on public lands (estimated at nearly $10 billion over five years) Energy Policy Act of 2005, Subtitle E -Production Incentives (esp. secs 342-347) But you havent addressed the question of why, if we use taxes as a component of a national energy policy, there should not be greater parity between tax breaks for oil companies as opposed to renewable energy resources or new alternative energy development.
Unless you believe we can drill our way to energy independence. |
I think oil companies should pay a fair market price for the right to drill on public land. I would have never supported giving one company over another such an advantage nor would I have asked tax payers to subsidize an oil company in this manner.
However, if the government knows that giving an oil company an incentive up front to drill in a location knowing the risks, uncertainties of possibly not finding oil - but realizing a potential "tax windfall" at the back-end if the drilling is productive and profitable - then I would give the folks in Washington credit for making a good business decision and thinking long-term. Perhaps the question of why is more complicated than it seems on the surface, or maybe I potentially give the folks in Washington too much credit- and this was really an example of the politics of "you scratch my back and I scratch yours". Which do you think it is, or is there another possibility.