One, big oil, employs thousands of workers. The workers are accountable. If they don’t meet goals, they don’t have jobs. The other, big government, employs millions. If government takes money from big oil, they will use it to employ even more. These employees produce nothing but paper. They are accountable for no goals. Their absentee rate is higher than any business would tolerate. They have a much more lucrative benefit package. Big government in the US finds ways to prevent big oil from using that technology to find domestic energy. You saw big government’s technology with the BP oil spill, there was zero help from your government in stopping the leak.
Big oil can lessen the dependence on foreign crude and imported energy products. Big government will prevent big oil from doing that.
Big oil has thousands of shareholders who own oil stock. Big Oil has a record of making profits in the best of times and the worst of times. Unlike, big autos, they have adjusted to low oil prices. They have not required your tax dollars or the big government’s help to survive. The other, big government, can’t run Amtrak or the post office without your tax dollars. It may get back to that accountability and absentee problem with their employees. Big oil has no interest in trying to run big government, but big government, despite a long track record of failure, wants to run everything. Including your health care.
Big oil, US oil companies, are the envy of the world when it comes to technology. They have learned ways to find and produce oil in hostile environments. Like deep water, from oil sands, and through shale rock. They have found ways to get more gasoline from old tired refineries. Countries like Mexico, Brazil, and Russia want that technology.
Big oil has thousands of shareholders, including many pension plans. Their record of paying dividends in one of the best in any industry. Big government takes a cut of those dividends and hires more workers who have no accountability and don’t show up for work.
Big oil takes the money from profits and takes huge risks with capital investment to find oil and gas. They can’t have many failures or they go out of business. Big government takes money from big oil profits, and Obama wants to take more, and gives it to the DOE. (Department of Energy). The DOE has taken those billions for over twenty years and produced nothing but government jobs. Remember, those employees who have zero accountability and don’t show up for work.
Big Oil has to work around Big Government. Big Oil wants to bring secure Canadian oil sand oil to US refineries via a new pipeline. Big government doesn’t want the pipeline because some environmentalist who give millions to big government campaigns don’t want it. So, progress stops until the country finally has no options and it gets built. Big Oil has a plan to invest $2 billion of those ugly profits in an Indiana refinery to process that Canadian oil. Big Government stopped the plan for a year.
Believe what you choose to believe about who is designated a villain. One is trying to keep you from going back to live in a cave. The other is doing everything possible to put you, your kids, and your grand kids back in that cave. How well prepared are you to eat worms?