I'll tell you, those Republicans in Congress and the White House really have their priorities straight. Yesterdayt, ExxonMobil reported a record quarterly profit of $9.9 billion on revenues of $101 billion (!), the first time in history that a U.S. company has earned more than $100 billion in a quarter. Several other companies - Marathon, Shell, ConocoPhillips, for instance - also made record profits in July, August and September. At the same time that Bush's buddies in Big Oil were raking it in, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that American homeowners would face sharply higher heating bills this winter -- $378 (32%) for those heating primarily with heating oil and $350 (48 percent) for those heating primarily with natural gas -- compared to last winter. This, of course, comes on top of $2.50-$3.00 per gallon gasoline in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Let's repeat that: ExxonMobil's racking up huge, enormous, record profits while the average American gets socked BIG TIME by heating oil, natural gas, and gasoline expenditures.
So, which side are the Bush Administration and Republican Congress on? I'll give you one guess!
Need a hint? Well, Today, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, was today on Capitol Hill whether he would not tax the oil industry to double funding for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP, a government program that helps poor families pay winter heating bills. Bodman's response? "That is not something I would be in favor of. That would be the equivalent of some kind of windfall profits tax."
Hmmmm....billions for the oil industry, big heating bills for average Americans? Now is that Republican Economics 101 or what?
In contrast, here are Senator Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) comments on the subject:
I find it outrageous that as the Republicans in Congress vote down the heating assistance that we know low-income families will need this winter, their oil company cronies are sitting on record profits.
And here's Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY):
Big Oil behemoths are making out like bandits, while the average American family is getting killed by high gas prices, and soon-to-be record heating oil prices.
By the way, as you receive your first heating bills of the winter season, you might want to think about whose side you want your Governor to be on: yours, or ExxonMobil's? And as you ponder that question, you might also want to consider what Jerry Kilgore has to say on this issue. Let me guess: it's "hypothetical?"