If they're making all those billions per year and having fairly large distributions to shareholders, then THEY should be financing their own exploration activities, not our tax dollars.

That seems to imply that no matter how inefective a business is, taxpayers have to pay them (subsidies) to do more of the same. Then, we can never change course. Where is the common sense in that?

Windfall taxes is a separate matter, but the corporate welfare system has to stop when it begins to smother instead of help.

Do I hear lobbyists at work?

Why exactly are we still subsidizing oil exploration at prices over $100.00 a barrel?

I had a meeting today with one of the worlds largest drilling contractors. Day rates are through the roof, rig utilization is at all time highs. And yet the Federal Government acts as if oil is still at $11.00 a barrel.

We've given them special tax breaks to encourage increased refining capacity. Didn't work.

We've offered them both tax breaks and royalty forgiveness in every single piece of legislation to open ANWR to production. Why? Because they have said they aren't interested in drilling in ANWR without them.

And these examples don't even address the subsidies provided by the Dept. of Defense, which are astronomical.

In 2006 the feds forked over 9 billion of our tax dollars to oil companies in tax breaks and subsidies.

Sure, but current gas prices reflect massive government giveaways to petroleum. Shift that to renewables, ones that don't rely on lots of gas and diesel (as corn ethanol does) and the equation changes.