OpEdNews - Diary: "Rather spend money on oil company for nothing than spend money on American education"--say corporate lawyers

The largest oil companies need to be broken up if they don't pay taxes and invest in American economy. Don't you think? Especially, if they keep thumbing their noses at education in America.

::::::::

Well, I think the large oil companies need to be broken up and sold off to American taxpayers--if they don't want to serve Americans while making 200,000,000,000 dollars in profit in 2011.--KAS

Here is yesterday's report from Democracy Now.

Senate Democrats blasted a recent statement by ConocoPhillips that it would be "Un-American" to end billions of dollars in subsidies to the oil industry. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) questioned ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY): "We have to get the deficit to a certain level, and we have choices. So I want to ask you, sitting in our shoes, just about your priorities. So my first question is to Mr. Mulva, and Im asking you for a reason. Do you think that your subsidy is more important than the financial aid we give to students to go to college? Could you answer that, yes or no?"

James Mulva, ConocoPhillips CEO: "Well, thats a very difficult question for me, two different, totally different, questions."

Schumer: "But we have to weigh those two things, Mr. Mulva. We have to weigh it because we have to get the deficit down to a certain level. So which would beXif you had a choice of one or another as an American citizen, which would you choose?"

Mulva: "Well, Senator, thats a choice that legislatively youre going to have to be making."

Schumer: "We are."

Mulva: "But for our company, what we are tasked with is to provide energy in an affordable way for the American public."

Schumer: "So you would choose the oil subsidy over aid to students? Thats what youre telling me."

Ditto is reported from Congressmen concerned with overboard oil profits. -Read more at
http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2011/05/pr20110513/

'YOU ARE LIKE SAUDI ARABIA': "I get the feeling that it's almost like you're -- like the five of you are--like Saudi Arabia," Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told the Big Oil executives. "That you're caught up in your profits, you're highly defensive, you yield on nothing," he said. "I think you're out of touch. Deeply, profoundly out of touch. And deeply and profoundly committed to sharing nothing." Throughout the hearing, the millionaire executives proved Rockefeller's point. "Don't punish our industry for doing its job well," said Chevron CEO John S. Watson. Watson did not elaborate on the consequences to the United States of the "job well done" by the oil industry. "I don't think American people want shared sacrifice," he rebuked Rockefeller. "I think they want shared prosperity." Watson's compensation in 2010 was nearly--$9 million, about 300 times-the median American income. The executives felt comfortable that their friends in Congress would protect their extravagant lifestyles. Watson, Tillerson and Mulva "have made a combined total of $258,870-in political donations since 1990. Of that amount, $237,670, or 92 percent, was contributed to Republicans."-Finance committee members have received $5.1 million-in oil industry contributions since 1999, going by a four-to-one ratio to Republicans. "You have a great sense of assurance. I don't think you feel threatened by anything that's going on here," Rockefeller said. "You always prevail-in the halls of Congress."