Senator (Schumer) says Senate must study breakup of oil firms

[Roland99]

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Senator_says_Senate_must_study_breakup_0425.html

In a speech today on the Senate floor, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) proposed considering the breakup of oil firms.

“We also have to reexamine whether having only a handful of giant oil companies can coexist with the needs of the American consumer and a rational energy policy in this country -- I do not believe it does," Schumer declared. "And so I'll be offering an amendment to the supplemental that will require a complete examination as to whether or not we should break up the big oil companies."

“Enough is enough," the New York senator added. "We have no competition. There are signs of it. I've talked to business leaders who buy oil and gas products, major, conservative Republican business leaders, and they don't believe the market is on the level."

Schumer's full speech follows.

Great move!

After that, work on the media conglomerates!

[Sub Atomic]

1. I say nationalize oil.

Break up the oil companies.

:hide:

[walkon]

8. So right.

Why bust 'em up when you can take them over. Democrats must run on breaking corporate rule of our country. Drug companies, health care corps., oil/energy, monopolistic retailers, agriculture conglomerates - bust 'em all!

[dchill]

29. And those damnable...

INSURANCE COMPANIES.

[Roland99]

14. Which oil, Iraq's?

;)

[ronnie624]

25. Damned right!

The oil industry needs to be nationalized and the profits used to fund the research and development of energy sources that do not involve burning hydrocarbons. Those who disagree with this statement are half-wits who have doomed themselves to abysmal depths of self-imposed ignorance and will thereby aid in the destruction of human civilization.*










*This statement is not followed by a sarcasm icon because it is not sarcasm.

[toopers]

37. What profit are you talking about?

If you are going to allow the government to make a profit then what is the point of nationalizing the oil companies. I guess I am a half-wit.

[jseankil]

38. make a profit and put it towards the defict? /nm

nm

[toopers]

39. Are we trying to reduce the cost of gas to the consumer?

If so, you have to get rid of the profit, and the .50 tax that the federal government puts on every gallon.

[Nutmegger]

27. The prime minister of Iran wanted to nationalize it too. [nt]

[luckyleftyme2]

28. NATIONALIZE OIL

GOOD IDEA;wonder why "dubya won't?"could it be he's afraid the oil companies magnates"better known as the "texas mafia" might make him an offer he can't refuse? do you think the puppet strings are a little tight right now?
i believe he has the power to nationalize any business during war time! and he keeps telling us we are at "war". lets see if he's got anything hanging besides "HAIR"!

[TankLV]

33. Got MY vote!

At the MINIMUM, they should ELIMINATE RIGHT AWAY all the SUBSIDIES that we GIVE to them! To the tune of BILLIONS!

We should also make it RETROACTIVE!

NO.

MORE.

CORPORATE.

WELFARE.

PERIOD!

[mumon]

34. I agree.

And I've made a poop-load of money in oil stocks.

[komuckway]

35. Nationalize?

Want to send the party into the tank for an eternity?
Just nationalize that industry.

It will never happen, nor will the break up of the companies.

Hate to say it but the investigation will benefit the right.
Market forces are driving prices.
Supply and demand.
Then they'll site ANWAR and the Gulf, plus no refineries built since 72.

Look at what happened to Davis in CA.
The result of price caps.

Look at what happened to the price of oil after price controls were lifted?
They plunged.

Want to send the party into oblivion for decades?
Just nationalize.
It didn't work in the USSR, it won't work here, and once problems happen...
the left will be to blame. Only the left.

[Sub Atomic]

36. So your solution is to remain status quo?

Whose side are you on?

[ebayfool]

41. I saw that posted on freerepublic ... point by point. Good job parroting!

Especially love the bit @ what happened to Davis in CA. They never bother to mention the involvement of the gop's best buddies - Enron - in manipulating that little crisis though, do they?

Salary, hourly, or by the post? I haven't quite figured out what is the most desireable!




edit to add:

There I go arguing w/headstones, again! Mods be on the job! :toast:

He better have went for the salary - his family would starve if he opted for post/piece pay! :rofl:

:rofl: 13 posts! :rofl:

[unda cova brutha]

42. yes, put the government in charge of oil

take it away from the bushies.

[Shakespeare]

2. EXCELLENT.

It's about damn time somebody remembered a little thing called the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Time to put the teeth back into it.

[npincus]

3. CNN broadcast a snippet of Schumer making this recommendation

as a "reponse" to B*sh's comments this mornng.

Chimp is screeching about holding "investigations" on price gouging, and suspends envirnomntal protections to eke out a few more pennies a gallon in our pocket, while the Dems have substantive proposals. Like this. Checkmate!

[petersjo02]

4. My husband mentioned this just last evening

Remember our history of the early part of the 20th century where Teddy Roosevelt's government went "trust-busting" to break up monopolies? One of the largest monopolies "busted" was the railroad industry. Certainly the large oil companies of our day would qualify as monopolies and should be subjected to the Roosevelt treatment. Good for Schumer.

[Kagemusha]

7. It's an oligopoly, not a monopoly, but um

I have no stomach for the 20 pages of arguments that would follow explaining why so I'll just say this and crawl under a rock, I think.

[denverbill]

12. Actually, Standard Oil was one of the biggest trusts busted.

Rockefeller used all sorts of monopolistic practices to kill off competetion. If another oil company came along, he'd buy them up. If he couldn't buy them, he'd tell the railroads not to ship their oil. If the railroads didn't comply, he'd buy them or yank all his business from them or tell the steel companies not to sell them rails. If that didn't work, he'd pay off some government official to yank a license or make their lives miserable some other way.

Today's oil companies aren't nearly that corrupt, but they are a virtual cartel that is in definite need of a breakup. Three cheers for Chuck!

[AX10]

5. Teddy Roosevelt busted up the monopolies a hundred years ago.

I say it's time again to bust them up.

[htuttle]

6. "DESTROY ALL MONSTERS"

Break up Big Oil?



...with THIS government?

I'm with ya, but we'll need more than 'luck'.

Maybe we can get Big Tobacco or Big Insurance to lend a hand...

[Copperred]

9. NATIONALIZE OR TREAT LIKE UTILITY WITH PROFIT MARGIN CAP

Breakup will do nothing.

All oil companies over 3B in market size should be nationalized or there should be a 3% profit margin cap similiar to utilities.

[Skittles]

10. I would prefer he concentrate on break-up of republican rule

yes INDEED

[brentspeak]

11. Another vote for NATIONALIZE

Besides the fact that the citizens of this nation subsidized the oil companies' facilities in the first place, the oil itself is supposed to belong to the citizens.

[Zorra]

13. Another vote for nationalization here. n/t

[depakid]

15. Well, if Clinton hadn't allowed them to merge in the first place

We might not be having this discussion....

[Roland99]

16. ARGH! The mighty Clenis strikes yet again!

[tomg]

17. Gotta go with nationalize here. nt

[Peace Patriot]

18. Nationalize! Then start using the profits to lift up the poor with

school funding, medical clinics, small business loans, food subsidies for the poorest, and other smart and compassionate and just expenditures--as they are doing in Venezuela--to which I would add, subsidize the release of all non-violent offenders from prison (help for the transition), solar and other alternative energy development, universal health care, and paying the cost to the states of chucking all Bushite-controlled electronic voting machines, and re-instituting use of PAPER BALLOTS HAND-COUNTED AT THE PRECINCT LEVEL in all U.S. elections.

We could use that oil money--after what these Bush junta criminals have done to our government budgets and to U.S. jobs and manufacturing. These Bushite corporations need to be dismantled, and their assets seized for the public good.

[SoCalDem]

19. They broke up Ma Bell for a lot less..and at least when Ma was in charge

our phone bill was under $15 a month, and if the phone broke, they fixed it free or gave us a new one:)

Since different parts of the country require different fuel needs, the industry should be nationalized and regionalized for maximum efficiency. It's a security issue..

[lovuian]

20. Nationalizing is a possibility but China has nationalized

oil and they have shortages...

Do we want shortages???

China tryed to freeze the price but it didn't work...

But yes it should be investigated...

[Strelnikov_]

22. Gangs Were Exporting The Subsidized Fuel To Other Countries To Sell

This was also happening in Vietnam, if I remember correctly.

Also, my question to those who propose profit limits, windfall profit taxes, or price caps, what do we do about the 65% of our petroleum that we obtain from other countries? Are we going to place caps or taxes on Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, Russia, Nigeria>

This seems to be the 800 lb. gorilla everyone overlooks.

We are no longer energy self-sufficient, which means we are stuck with purchasing the majority of our petroleum on the world open market, at market prices.

[jwirr]

21. And the media.

[wordpix2]

23. great idea & tax their price gouging profits while we're at it.

[WhiteTara]

24. Yep, it's time to nationalize our resources

and take them out of the hands of the greedy friends of *

[anotherdrew]

26. better idea - nationalize them . n/t

[yurbud]

30. okay, I take back any bad thing I said about this guy in the past

[yurbud]

31. vote this one up--it's the best news of the day

[yurbud]

32. Send this to news site like Buzzflash, Truthout, Antiwar

[LiberalFighter]

40. Part of the reason there is limited capacity to produce

When the bigger oil companies bought out others they consolidated their resources and that meant reduction in refineries. My understanding is also that refineries are being used at almost 100% capacity. When there is maintenance, fires or other incidents capacity goes down and price goes up. Gee I wonder if that was intentional.

[Roland99]

43. There's capacity. Several refineries have been expanded.