How Those Big Bucks End Up in Big Oil’s Pockets

When oil prices spiked — and oil profits soared — 26 years ago, virtually every newspaper intern in America (including me) was dispatched to gasoline stations to collect quotes from irate motorists. Big Oil was viewed as public enemy number one: Congress convened hearings to skewer oil industry execs, regulatory agencies investigated pricing, and some news organizations rented helicopters to scour the waters (in vain) for signs of oil tankers floating offshore just waiting for prices to climb higher.

In recent months, oil company profits have soared again as international crude oil prices have hit new highs. Yet the reaction of the American public has been more muted. And that has probably emboldened Congress — which, instead of investigating oil companies, just handed them (by various estimates) anywhere from $1.4 billion to $4 billion in tax breaks in the new energy bill.

Still, inquiring minds want to know: Isn’t there something wrong when firms profit so richly from the misfortune of the U.S. economy and American consumers?

Washington Post