Dancing to the Corporate Welfare Queen’s Tune

Let’s take one more look at the sad history of efforts in the U.S. Congress to amend the Royalty Relief Act which is costing Americans in terms of revenues due to the Treasury and at the gas pump.  It’s not like there haven’t been opportunities for the Congress to take up this issue and do something which would benefit consumers and the U.S. Treasury at the same time.   Perhaps the following chart is an indication of why enacting legislation to at least modify the royalty relief has been all but impossible:

August 9, 2009 H.R. 3534 Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act passed the House 209-193 (roll call 513) August 4, 2010 placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.  This is as close as we’ve come to amending the royalty relief provisions.

January 26, 2010 H.R. 4561 Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

July 30, 2010 H.R. 6051 Deficit Reduction Through Fair Oil Royalties Act Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

August 10, 2010 S. 3687 Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

January 26, 2011 H.R. 501 Implementing the Recommendations of the BP Oil Spill Commission Act Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on February 25, 2011

February 14, 2011 S. 338 Deepwater Drilling Royalty Relief Prohibition Act Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

April 4, 2011 H.R. 1352 Deficit Reduction Through Fair Oil Royalties Act Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

May 5, 2011 H.R. 1748 Taxpayer and Gas Relief Act Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

November 16, 2011 H.R. 3446 Fair Payment for Energy and Mineral Production on Public Lands  Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

February 8, 2013 H.R. 601 Permanent Repeal of Oil Subsidies Act
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on February 21, 2013

February 11, 2013 S. 278 Job Preservation and Sequester Replacement Act Referred to the Committee on Finance

February 11, 2013 S. 277 Job Preservation and Economic Certainty Act Referred to the Committee on Finance

February 13, 2013 S. 307 Close Big Oil Loopholes Act Referred to the Senate Finance Committee February 13, 2013

February 14, 2013  S 329 Sustainable Energy Act Referred to the Committee on Finance

March 18, 2013  S.598 Deepwater Drilling Royalty Relief Prohibition Act
Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

August 1, 2013 H.R. 2956 End Welfare for Big Oil Act  Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

November 21, 2013 S. 1762 End Polluter Welfare Act Referred to the Committee on Finance,  Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry

Isn’t it interesting that our federal government would be interested in cutting funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program [CNN] but can’t seem to budge beyond the padded chairs in the committee chambers when the topic of eliminating or reducing the royalty relief offered to the Energy Giants comes up?

Current funding for LIHEAP is sufficient to cover only about one in five families who would be eligible for such assistance.  [SLIHEAP pdf]  Somehow we seem to be quite able to address 100% of the multinational fossil fuel corporation needs?

A Well Practiced Line: Two Views of Romney’s Free Stuff Motif

Today isn’t the first time presidential candidate Mitt Romney has used the “want free stuff?” motif but after his performance at the NAACP convention it is the most blatant:

“But I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy-more free stuff. But don’t forget nothing is really free. it has to paid for by people in the private sector creating goods and services, and if people want jobs more than they want free stuff from government, then they are going to have to get government to be smaller. And if they don’t want to repeal Obamacare they are going to have to give me some other stuff they are thinking about cutting, but my list takes Obamacare off first and I have a lot of other things I am thinking of cutting.”  [Mediatite]

This is a repetition of his response to a heckler questioning his stance on contraception on March 19, 2012:  “Romney: “You know, let me tell you, no no, look, look let me tell you something. If you’re looking for free stuff you don’t have to pay for, vote for the other guy. That’s what he’s all about, okay? That’s not, that’s not what I’m about.” [RCP]

There are at least two ways to view this motif. The first is the obvious and well worn African Americans as lazy welfare loafers who would prefer welfare to working narrative that runs rampant through many white conversations.  This is a stereotype and the Romney Campaign knows it.

However, it happens to be a very popular stereotype among white bigots, some of whom are part of the GOP base.  If Governor Romney believes that this will enable him to reinvigorate the Southern Strategy he may be correct, but it’s a strategy with the potential for short term gains and long term losses as the Republicans trend into a regional party.

Perhaps the former Massachusetts governor believes reviving the Welfare Queen stereotype will allow him to sound “Reaganesque,” but in 2012 it doesn’t sound so much Reagan-like as it just sounds old hat. A battered baseball cap worn so often in Republican rhetoric that it also serves to stereotype Republicans.

There’s a second way this motif can be interpreted.  Governor Romney is presenting a categorization of when federal spending is “free stuff” and when it is not.

In Romney’s classification that which involves people; Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants, Apprenticeship Training Programs, Title I educational funding, Community Health Center funding, Rural Mental Health programs, affordable housing construction and administration, Nutrition Programs such as SNAP, and the like are “free stuff.”

However, when “Corporations are people my friend” get taxpayer subsidies this is not “free stuff.”  Really?  Let’s look at the tax breaks for “Corporations Are People:”

Therefore, if a Middle Class family needs some assistance from Pell Grant funds to send a child to college — that’s “free stuff.”  However, when bankers needed $601,586,466,567 to recapitalize after their Housing Debacle, and repaid $307,988,286,409 [ProPublica] THAT isn’t Free Stuff.

When an American wants to have affordable health care when he or she reaches 65 years of age — that’s “free stuff.”  But, when major oil companies making massive profits get $4 billion in tax breaks –THAT isn’t Free Stuff.

When a family of four in which the income earners are each working part time jobs needs SNAP benefits to keep food on the table for the kids — that’s “free stuff,” but when 10% of the players in the Agribusiness sector get 75% of the subsidies — THAT isn’t Free Stuff.

It should be as clear as a mountain stream before the brewery moved in, whatever helps real people is “free stuff,” and whatever helps corporations is “incentives for job creators.”

So, where are all those jobs?  Jobs Bills?