Flaylo
Handsome Devil
Frances Beinecke: Even as American Families Struggle, Oil Companies Triumph at the Pump and in Congress
Who really gives a shit about us commoners except if we're filthy rich? Moneys talks, real political issues and the will of the majority walks, bunch of bought son's of bitches.
The oil industry got 48 Senators, including three Democrats, to continue handing over wasteful federal subsidies for oil drilling. That means a bill to end giveaways to the five largest oil companies failed to get the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. There were some hopeful signs, though. A majority of the Senate did vote to end the federal largesse, including two Republicans, Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
Still, the failure of the Senate to take this simple, common-sense step is staggering. Many Americans are paying more than $4 a gallon for gas. Our economy is still reeling from the worst recession in decades. And the federal budget is experiencing a deficit crisis of historic proportions.
Yet many lawmakers want to hand over our money to an industry in which the top five companies made $35 billion in the first quarter of this year alone. This same industry received $51 billion in federal subsidies and favorable tax treatment between 2002 and 2008, and yet still they ask for the subsidies to keep flowing.
Who really gives a shit about us commoners except if we're filthy rich? Moneys talks, real political issues and the will of the majority walks, bunch of bought son's of bitches.