re: #370 BrainSurfer

Oil companies make profits when prices go up based on margins allowed. Subsidies are in place to help those companies offset the extremely high cost of exploration and drilling. If the government doesn’t want the oil companies to explore for oil, then drill for oil to make it available for our use, then obviously the subsidies should be canceled. Sure seems counterproductive to me.

What I don’t understand is why Obama wants to minimize our own oil producing capabilities (while providing help to the Brazilian oil industry) before we have proven and cost effective energy alternatives.

My guess is that he wants to placate the Environmentalists and the AGW crowd in order to help him get reelected.

Umm… the help that was given to the Brazillian companies was part of the Import Export Bank of the US, it wasn’t done to help get Brazil to drill for oil, it was done so that they would agree to buy products from us in exchange for some money they needed….