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Does the US government subsidize oil companies?

Everyone throws that out there, like it's a given, but I don't see any evidence of it. I'm not saying the government doesn't do it for sure, I'm just looking for evidence. i.e. how many dollars went to which company and when. Be specific. I'm asking about direct subsidies or specific tax breaks that aren't available to other industries.

And I'm not talking about military action in the middle east, either.

4 Answers

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    general overview:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_oil_pol...

    There are tax breaks for oil companies, but so far, I haven't found specific dollar amounts by company...

  • 8 years ago

    No, subsidies are price supports. What government gives the oil companies are grants for exploration, research and development. These grants allow the oil companies to maintain investor profits without having to spend their own money.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    No direct subsidizes like they do to Agriculture but many special tax breaks are given just like they are to almost all industries

  • 8 years ago

    Democrats like to spread that lie around, but avoid the fact that the government DOES subsidize so-called green corporations that contribute to Democrat candidates, like GE and Solyndra.

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