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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Wind and Solar need Subsidies, just like Big Oil and Gas.

Oh how times have changed.

Used to be a time in the early 1900's when the U.S. subsidized the oil industry...oh yeah, they haven't stopped getting that subsidy. 

Fast forward to now, and the new solar and wind industries would appear to be in line to get a similar helping hand from Uncle Sam. Nope, even if they create jobs. Fox News of course:


Here's a little Yahoo history lesson:
The Congressional Research Service states the fledgling oil industry in the United States first received government assistance in 1916. That was when intangible drilling costs were able to be fully deducted from a company's expenses for tax purposes. In 1926, a write-off for cost depletion was introduced. That provision allowed oil companies to deduct costs based upon overall gross receipts and not just the actual value of the oil.

Both of those subsidies still exist. The Obama administration claims the average subsidy for huge oil companies is $4 billion per year. The bill in the Senate would have saved $24 billion in 10 years.

When the study adjusted for inflation to 2009 dollars, the oil and gas industry received subsidies amounting to $1.8 billion per year in the first 15 years of the fledgling industry. The American Coalition for Ethanol estimates that when combined with state and local government aid to large oil companies, subsidies amount to anywhere from $133.8 billion to $280.8 billion annually from all sources of taxpayer aid that goes to the oil and gas industry. The three largest oil companies made $80 billion in profits combined in 2011, which amounts to $200 million per day. 

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