Poor Wittle Consumer.
Congressional hearings on oil company profits were held yesterday, during which oil co. CEOs were raked across the coals by politicians for a) making bucket loads of profit, b) taking advantage of the idiotically generous tax breaks available to them, and C) not ploughing enough of their profits back into green energy research.
The oil companies are for-profit mercenary operations. Why would anyone expect them to do anything more benevolent than simply making money? We are all hurting from high oil prices, but it’s our fault for being so damn reliant on the black stuff in the first place. We are all capable of actively excluding ourselves from the oilfest. But instead we yell at greedy suits for being greedy suits, while we consume vast amounts of their product.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 10:31 am by Matt Davies.
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Yes, Big Oil is allowed to seek profits, but I don't understand the tax breaks. They have a built-in advantage already in that we all consume oil. Why do they need tax breaks that get shoved off to the Average Joe to pay?
Matt,
You don't play to the crowd. I don't believe you're consciously doing that above; your work is subtler than that.
Your outrage is felt by millions of people – me included. But I'm not an editorial cartoonist. I'm not capable of expressing myself as you guys can.
If you're gonna speak for us, speak better than we do? Most other editorial cartoonists I run across are banal & boring. David Letterman is lame; Bill Maher is self-opinated. Where elso can we turn for the good stuff?
I think they get the same ridiculous tax breaks that all campaign contributors require…
And no, I'm not playing to the crowd. The crowd wants cheaper oil (heck it cost me $50 to fill my little car this am…) so it can continue to burn it without thinking about the long-term consequences. The crowd is also looking for someone to blame for costly fuel. And oil Company execs are easy targets (I've done my fair share of those crowd-pleasing cartoons…) But until the crowd realizes that a huge part of that blame lies within, we are doomed to just complain about oil prices.
The answer to price gouging and ridiculous oil prices? Stop buying the stuff.
I'd imagine that many of us are oil company stockholders, either directly or through our mutual funds. (And we demand high returns.)
In other news, banks have higher profit margins. (Barring mortgage collapse.)
Yes, we are partially to blame for using as much gas as we do. But show me some viable alternative fuel vehicles or home heating solutions.
Keep in mind that I'm asking from the perspective of someone who does not have an extra $10,000 sitting around to pay a higher price for untested new technologies. I can't afford to be a guinea pig.
We are "dependent" on oil because, well, we're dependent upon it. This word implies that we don't have any other viable choices.
Show me that and then your cartoon will make more sense. Given two vehicles side by side that cost the same and one is a non-fossil fuel burning car, and I bet you the vast majority of Americans would choose the latter.
the question then becomes, why isn't our representative government not moving industry in this direction?