SubscribeObama To End Big Oil, Start Carbon Credits
From those champions of Mother Earth at Reuters:
Obama eyes active role in oil markets
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama would take an active role in U.S. oil markets as president, tackling concerns about the dominance of large oil companies and eyeing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a potential weapon to combat high prices, his top energy adviser said.
Jason Grumet, the presidential hopeful’s key energy and environmental policy aide, told Reuters this week that an Obama administration would crack down on any competition lapses in the sector that have resulted from big corporate mergers.
Grumet also said Obama would seek to link a future U.S. carbon emissions trading system with the European Union’s scheme as soon as possible while focusing attention on China and India in forging a global warming pact…
He said an Obama administration would examine “whether these mergers and consolidations have decreased competition in a way, concentrated market power in a way, that is undermining to consumers.”
Grumet declined to identify specific companies and would not comment on whether Obama would seek to break up dominant players. Leading U.S. oil firms include ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.
“It is premature to try to articulate what the remedy is,” Grumet said. “There are indications that there could be some problems there and … the (Bush) administration has been a bit asleep at the switch, so we would be digging into those questions aggressively.”
With oil prices at record highs, Grumet said Obama would seek to tax the “windfall” profits that oil companies are making - a threat that Clinton has also made…
Obama would also consider tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down prices while recognizing that such a move is normally meant to aid in the case of an acute supply disruption, Grumet said…
Grumet said Obama was extremely concerned about high oil prices as well as speculation in the markets. But he rejected claims that environmental restrictions were to blame for insufficient oil refining capacity, saying oil companies had kept it that way in order to make refining profitable.
Obama has said a key factor in bringing oil prices down and fighting climate change will be tackling the transport sector and increasing the fuel economy of cars.
Grumet said Obama supported a global carbon market and would seek to link a U.S. emissions trading system with the established European one “as soon as possible,” though he would make establishing a U.S. program to fight warming and agreeing to an international climate change treaty his top priorities…
Given Mr. Obama’s extensive expertise in these fields, the markets will surely find this tremendously reassuring. (At least Mrs. Clinton claims to have played the cattle futures market.)
And certainly this is the ideal time to start forcing us to deal in “carbon credits.” (Of course the reality is that they want to push these things through before too many people realize what a scam it all is.)
By the way, isn’t forcing people to drive smaller, lighter and therefore less safe cars “blood for oil”?
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29 Responses to “Obama To End Big Oil, Start Carbon Credits”
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March 20th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
YO BARRY!
How many offset credits did you buy after your Texas concession speech?
March 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
(((saying oil companies had kept it that way in order to make refining profitable.)))
Uh, he cant be that stupid, can he? I mean really, can he? We are in a world of doo doo if in fact he really means it. C’mon now, he cant be, can he? I mean, nobody with a molecule of common sense can be serious…awww, he’s just playing to the enviro morons…right? Holy crap.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Another dimmiwit who has no clue as to why the cost of oil is so high. I listen to the same idiots in my work place cry every day this is all the work of Bush and his oil buddies that a barrell of oil is so frigging high so they can all get rich while the rest of us suffer. So I counter with, So Bush must have buddies in the copper industry since the cost of copper is at an all time high. Naturally he must also have buddies in the gold cartel, the silver cartel, timber, zinc, nickel, rhodium, platinum etc etc basically every natural resource (where just about every one of them is at all time highs.
Obama administration would crack down on any competition lapses in the sector that have resulted from big corporate mergers.
Does Obama ask why the big oil companies formed these mergers? They had to consolidate back when gas was around a $1 gallon and they were all losing money. Does Obama offer to cut back the gas taxes that tacks on another 40-50 cents a gallon, which is 4-5 times higher that the .10 profit the gas stations make on a gallon of gas? Of course not it’s rich evil greedy Bush friends in the oil gig.
Obama would also consider tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down prices while recognizing that such a move is normally meant to aid in the case of an acute supply disruption, Grumet said…
What will this do? Since refineries are already operating at maxium output, what will this do to help the price of gas? The reserve is basically a 90 day supply so what good will tapping it do other than to convince OPEC to say fine, you have the oil you need, we’ll just cut back production to compensate.
Grumet said Obama was extremely concerned about high oil prices as well as speculation in the markets. But he rejected claims that environmental restrictions were to blame for insufficient oil refining capacity, saying oil companies had kept it that way in order to make refining profitable.
LMAO! Yeah, you can’t build anything in this country without mounds of environmental impact studies which eventually say some spotted cricket will go extinct if they build here there or anywhere. So then the Oil companies have also conspired to keep us from drilling in Alaska and off the California and Florida coastlines? Have they also conspired with the Chinese and Indians to ramp up their economies to drive up demand 10 fold over 10 years ago?
March 20th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
How about $10.00 per gallon gas. Thanks Osama, oops Obama.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Unbelievable. I’m tellin’ ya. If either Obama or Hillary gets into the white house our economy will end up in shambles and the price of oil will be $200 a barrel.
It amazes me to no end how much people gripe about the price of gas in this country. They’ll spend $6 for a cup of coffee or buy bottled water at $2 a pop and never bat an eye, but they see gas prices at $3 a gallon and it’s the end of civilization as we know it. Give me a break!
Gasoline (all “so called” fossil fuels) is one of the most efficient energy sources ever discovered by man. For a measly $3 you can carry three tons, thirty miles in half an hour. That’s a helluva bargain if you ask me! Let’s see; load 10 horses with 600 lbs. each. Walk all day just to get that thirty miles and we are not including feed or the manpower to load and unload the animals. I would venture to guess that would cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars and you do that same equivalent every time you get in a SUV (3 tons) and drive to get your “crumb crunchers” from the indoctrination center (public school) where they’re learning that oil is evil. Cut me some slack or better yet just cut me loose so I don’t have to listen to this whining BS anymore.
The endless parade of idiots, complaining whilst they pump that evil fluid into their little hybrids, on the local news is nauseating to me. Then they’ll go right inside to pay and buy that $2 bottle of water. Dumbasses!
March 20th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
No, B. Hussein isn’t that stupid, he might be close though. It’s the typical Democrats pandering to all thos idiots who believe the trash the MSM pushes down the throats of those dumb enough to watch the nightly news. B. Hussein and Hillary are following the classic vote trail, and hoping the lower IQ lefties don’t ever get a clue, or they are out of business permanently. It’s my understanding, correct me if I’m wrong Bigoil, there haven’t been any new refineries built in the US for over 30 years, and we have to buy light sweet crude for them. Newer refineries could process the heavy crude, which would be a better deal in the long run. Why no new refineries, envirowhackos as usual, across the board. Either of these two get in, and they actually half believe the garbage they say, we’re screwed royally.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Not only that DGA. We import %13 of our gasoline already refined by other countries. What do you think that cost the economy? And what about all the jobs, great jobs, that would be created. I’ve worked in the “evil” oil and natural gas industry for years. You wouldn’t believe the envronmental hoops we have to jump through. Nor would you believe the number of envirnmentalist whackos I’ve had to call the police on to unchain them from a tree in our right of way so we could continue with construction of pipelines and valve sites. Holding up millions of dollars worth of equpment and men for hours. I would venture to guess that gas would be less than a $2 a gallon if not for this idiocy. Maybe even less. Really. I’m not kidding.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Because it’s not like oil companies won’t pass those taxes directly on to consumers.
Of course not.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Does Obama have the slightest understanding of a global market?
Dear Obama, Guess what happens if China offers 200 dollars for a barrel of crude.
As BillK has pointed out a tax is simply passed on to the consumer, Either Obama and miss Clinton are to moronic to comprehend, Or they think we are.
We can’t drill for oil on native soil or offshore, We can not build new refineries.
Every proposed alternative is blocked by the bark biters because a sparrow may be injured.
Liberals came from the stoned age, And wish we all lived in the stone age.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
DGA - Although it is true a grass roots refinery has not been built in about 30 years, we have made incremental capacity increases in existing refineries, mostly with technology upgrades. As Noyzmaker points out, it is the environmental whackos like the Sierra Club in concert with liberal morons like B. Hussein that are strangling the industry. I recently finished an upgrade project that increased gasoline production. By far the most difficult part of the project was the 2 years to get the permit developed and approved.
What will likely put the final nail in the coffin of future refinery expansions will be listing CO2 as a pollutant. CO2 is the Trojan Horse of the liberals and environmentalists in their assault on industry.
Refining, like many industrial processes, is energy intensive. Increasing energy consumption will invariably generate more CO2. Once CO2 regulation is invoked via carbon credits or whatever scam or penalty liberals dream up - permitting will be cost prohibitive and industrial expansion, at least in America, will grind to a halt.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:28 am
Look at some of Obama’s biggest contributors and you’ll see who is going to to be controlling the Markets
From American thinker.com
“Email Friend | Print Article
May 28, 2007
The friends of Barack Obama
Ed Lasky
George Soros is omnipresent at Obama fundraisers. The New York Times reports on the latest round of big bucks fundraisers in wealthy Greenwich, CT.
It was Mr. Obama’s four-hour dash through town, however, that had everyone chatting, mostly about the hundreds of thousands of dollars he gleaned. The evening began at the waterfront home of the billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, a hedge fund titan. His home, worth an estimated $25 million, features an underground garage roomy enough for more than 25 cars. It has been described in Vanity Fair as “a cross between Tara and a national monument.”
Another billionaire, George Soros, a longtime supporter of liberal causes, was a co-chairman of the event, which drew 300 guests who were asked to pay $2,300 apiece. A private reception was tossed in for about a dozen people who had raised $25,000 or more for the candidate. By many accounts, waiters in white tuxedos flitted among the crowd, and the supermodel Tyra Banks added sparkle to the guest list.
For another example of the Soros presence, see this event a few weeks ago at a NYC condo where Soros was pictured with Obama. Soros also took advantage of a loophole during Obama’s primary and general campaigns that allowed Soros and his family to give outsized contributions to Obama. The timing of these donations and the revelations that doomed Obama’s opponents are curious, to say the least. See my earlier coverage.
While in Greenwich, Obama also visited the home of Allan Houston of the New York Knicks, a man with a serious anti-Semitism problem. Though the New York Times chose to ignore the controversy other papers covered regarding Allan Houston’s anti-Semitism.”
With Obama in the White House, these backers will be free to assist in destroying Isreal,
and defeating the US in the the financial markets.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
When will the American public come to their senses concerning this long-standing ruse by Dhimmicrats and their MSM minions?
Hmmm, let’s see if we can find those nefarious windfall profits shall we? Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest corporation so let’s start with them. Here is a link to Exxon’s SEC filings and financials;
http://ir.exxonmobil.com/phoen.....p=irol-sec
( Sorry but all the reports are down-loadable pdf’s, go to the SEC filings of Feb. 28, 2008, Part II starting on page 27 )
2007 should have been a “windfall” year, right? For 2007, Exxon reported gross revenues of $404.5 billion and from that, a gross profit of $72.34bb for a gross profit margin of 17.88%.
Outrageous the libtards cry!!
Well, not really because those are pre-tax figures. Sorry there corporation haters but just like the rest of us, Exxon has to pay income tax on their profits.
For 2007, Exxon paid a record $31.728 billion in income taxes which equates to a tax rate of nearly 44%, ( how would you like to be in that bracket ). After all is said and done, Exxon made $40.61 billion in net profit for a margin of 10%. But it really doesn’t end there. Exxon pays cash dividends to it’s shareholders out of that profit and the list goes on from there. I could do the rest of the math but you get the point.
Not much of a windfall now is it? Small business owners out there would surely agree that a net profit margin of below 10% borders on starvation profits for the proprietor.
The libtards incessant caterwauling about evil corporations and their obscene profits is just total BS.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
GM; ……”Exxon pays cash dividends to it’s shareholders out of that profit…..”
And those shareholders pay additional taxes on the investment income too. I think it important to remember that neither BO or Hillary have ever worked in the private sector (well, maybe Hillary, briefly), thus they have no knowledge of how the free enterprise system works. Check their resumes’ and you’ll see that they have always been fed at the public trough, and the trough only gets replenished at the expense of the taxpayer. Businesses don’t pay taxes, consumers do. As far as profit margins go, my small construction business has operated consistently at about 3% net for the last five years. Five percent would be nice but it didn’t happen even happen even during the eight years of Clinton’s supposedly “booming economy”. People have no idea how incredibly small the profit margin is in a purely construction oriented (not land development, real estate, etc) business. It is hard work without much room for error. But having said that, any cost-of-overhead increases are passed on to the end of the line–the consumer. All taxing a business does is make it harder for the business to remain solvent.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Damn JohnMG, 3% net in construction.? Man, you run a tight ship, so to speak. I know several small contractors here in AZ that truly struggle at 10% or less but, that margin may be prior to paying themselves. No matter how you cut it though, it’s a tough business.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm
GM; I’m talking about after ALL the bills are paid. To play this game legitimately, the overhead is atrocious. If I chose to register my trucks in my private name, and lie about the fact that they were being used in the business, versus registering them through the company, my insurance would be half of what it is now. The commercial rate is more than double the private rate. I carry liability and workers compensation insurance and my experience modification factor is relatively low at $13.00 per $100 of payroll. I insist on a safe work site. But the hourly rate for union carpenters is over $30/hr. here which means my comp cost for one employee for a 40-hour week is $156 per week. Do the math. That’s a lot of money over the course of a year. Imagine if I have one claim and my EMF jumps to $16.00 per $100 of payroll. I can’t absorb the increase so I have to pass it along. Add to that, that every out-of-work clown with a pick-up truck and a power saw thinks he’s a contractor, and while not carrying liability or comp insurance, these are the people out hustling the work that is the mainstay of my operation, willing to do it for cash money. And when I say net profit, I mean, after paying myself an income, (I still work with my tools) and paying business and personal taxes, this is the money I can call mine. And yes, it’s a tenuous existence. My youngest kid (32 yrs. old) says, “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room”, so I guess I’m still OK. That should make me eco-friendly, right? ;-}
March 21st, 2008 at 9:29 pm
JonMG. I worked as a carpenter for over 25 years. I know a little about your plight. Guys like you allowed me to earn a living for a long time and I sympathize with you. That’s one tight budget you’ve got there and the government only gets in the way. I even tried, briefly, to start my own business and came to the conclusion it was just less stressful to go home with a paycheck than to go home with a headache. Eventually, age caught up with me and my body just wouldn’t allow me to continue in construction, although I still dabble for friends, and that’s the reason I went into the “evil” oil and gas business. So, to some extent I understand where you’re coming from. Guys like you, making that sacrifice, allowed guys like me to make it and I never made anything close to $30 an hour. No union in NC; thank God. Thank you and every American that makes that choice. People like you keep this country prosperous and free…….without firing a shot. You’re a true patriot and people like BHO and HRC will never know what it means to be one.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Thanks, Noyz. I hope that didn’t sound whine-y because I really like what I do. But the liberal mind drives me crazy. To them, every business owner is getting fabulously rich on the backs of the poor. Never mind that every swinging Richard could do as I did and roll the dice. I’ve never heard anyone aspiring to become poor, so if it’s that easy, come grab a piece of the action.
Meanwhile, back on topic, oil–or the lack of it–will be the undoing of this country. If anyone needed a hint as to how uninformed Obama is about this, consider his proposal concerning the strategic petroleum reserves. Clueless!!
March 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
JohnMG, ever buy any plumbing supplies?
I might be able to help you.
http://www.parksupplycompany.com/
March 21st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
To answer your question, 1st, indirectly, yes. I have one plumbing contractor whom I deal with almost exclusively, so I see the creep in his proposals from job to job. But everything is tied to oil either directly or otherwise. I’ve had two concrete foundation jobs signed since December of 07. The weaather has prevented me from starting either one. I’ve also been notified of two price per cu.yd. increases since the deals were inked, and I have to honor my bids. The reason? Transportation costs. Same thing with lumber. The plumbing industry is hit doubly. Copper pipe prices are erratic, and PVC is inextricably linked to petroleum. So are roofing products. My primary work truck is an
F-350 diesel. Monday, when I will have to fill it up, I can expect to spend $140–and the tank won’t be empty either. Diesel here is just a couple cents shy of four dollars/gallon. When I finally get around to excavating for the two foundations, it will cost more to have that done as a result. My margin is getting thinner all the time but that’s how it goes. When you go bear hunting, sometimes you get the bear–sometimes the bear gets you.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
JohnMG ,
Black pipe went up 8% wednesday. Copper is a roller coster. We are quoting prices for only 7 days now where before they were for 30 days.
If you need anything, let me know, we can drop ship anywhere.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
You just told the truth JohnMG.
Obama hasn’t got a clue about the energy needs of this coutry and what it takes to make it work. Nor do his “advisors” who are just old school Marxists who want nothing less than the utter destruction of our way of life…..not theirs mind you. Ours. Maybe, learning from the teachings of his mentor, Obama just wants to drag “whitey” down to the level he feels we “deserve”. It’s the same old tired liberal philosophy: “We can’t raise up the lower classes without dragging down the rest.” Liberals see a zero sum game and believe nobody gets ahead unless they’re standing on top of someone else. Until that LIE is squarely confronted by people relying on libs to better their life, they’ll never make it any further than the mailbox to pick up their welfare check.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Thanks, 1st. This year hasn’t started off well. I finished the year with a respectable cash reserve but only two jobs signed and another that has been idle since Thanksgiving. There went the operating capital. Global warming my ass! I’ve been bidding a lot but getting only a few. Once the MSM began talking everybody into a non-existent recession the bottom seemed to fall out. I don’t feel too bad, though. Most of my legitimate competitors (it’s really a quite friendly fraternity) tell me they are in the same boat. One of them asked me what I’d do if I won the lottery. I told him I’d probably put new tires on the truck. Then I’d just keep contracting ’til it was all gone! ;-}
March 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
“But the dollar price of oil has surged by some 60% since September, even as U.S. growth has slowed sharply. If the dollar had merely retained its value against the euro, oil would be in the neighborhood of $70 a barrel. Dollar weakness explains a large part of the oil price surge”.
From The Buck Stops Where? The Wall Street Journal Online, March 17, 2008
March 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Professor_Repulso says….…”Dollar weakness explains a large part of the oil price surge”
Take a look at the charts (link below) and you’ll see that historically, when the price of oil rises the dollar falls and vice versa. They are and have always been linked, but one cannot be blamed on the other. Supply and Demand. That’s it.
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/menu.html
March 24th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Noyz; ….”Supply and Demand. That’s it….”
As always. The fact that we’re being outbid in the world market accounts for much. Obviously, some of that bidding is politically driven, but that’s just a side effect, not the impetus. With China and India willing and able to pay inflated prices we have no alternative to playing in that game, save for developing our own resources. We all know how popular that is with our liberal friends.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
JohnMG…Of corse you are right. One can’t overlook OPEC’s roll in all of this either. Their refusal to increase production just proves our necessity to produce more here at home. Now if we could just get the environmentalists whackos out of the way.
March 24th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
BO must have borrowed this speech from Chavez. I also feel sorry for the little oil & gas guys, the wildcatters, as they have been opening up oil and gas wells that have been tapped off since the 1980’s. If the Liberals get their way they will put this group of folks back out of business.
This is ridiculous anyway especially since, in reality, we have huge oil and gas reserves that exist in the USA that could be tapped in to. Not to mention an additional oil refinery or two could help our situation. It is although the Libs don’t REALLY want a solution to our alleged “energy problem”. (The same as with the alleged “race problem”. I see a pattern.)
And, can anyone tell me where and what this carbon credit money is going to? Last year 200 million dollars was collected in carbon credit taxes. I would like to know just what has improved with the benefit of this money. (BTW, I refuse to buy carbon credits as my husband works in the alternative energy field.) :-)
March 24th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Maybe Algore has the answer to that, texaspsue. He might even parlay himself into the next multi-billionaire. You know, like Citibank. Now what catchy name could he give to his “carbon credit card”?
March 24th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
the commiecrat liberal inviromentalist’s have closed a lot of refineries. if you vote for hillary
you will get a rebate. take a camera into voting booth to prove how you vote. you can also
get an autographed picture of bill and eliot spitzer side by side.