The media reports that Senate Republicans blocked a  poposed windfall profit tax on the oil industry. The Bush administration and Republican Congress have had their way for eight years in protecting the oil industry while it continued to collect more and more profits. Sixty votes were needed to pass the bill and  only fifty one voted for it. Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana was the only Democrat to oppose the bill and she has ties to the oil industry in her state.

U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corporation, Shell Oil Company, BP America and Cononco Phillips Company, who would have been subject to the tax, lobbied against passage. There is nothing new about this. I've complained before about the Republican senate protecting the oil industry.

Republicans also blocked a second proposal to extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy development as well as promoting energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, the top five publicly traded oil firms took in over $120 Billion in 2007. Recent profit reports indicated that Chevron, the nation’s number two oil company, has reported earnings of $3.6 Billion. Conoco Phillips earned $3.8 Billion, BP America $6.5 Billion and Royal Dutch Shell $9 Billion. Exxon Mobil reported last year’s net income at $40.6 Billion, a record setting profit for a publicly traded company.

The oil industry argues that huge increases in demand for oil, as the economy of China and India boom, results in more production which in turn means more profit, but not unreasonable profit. They say  the  price reflects the scarcity of the resource. They argue that the high prices give incentive to locate and develop more oil reserves. They claim tax creates new hurdles to exploration and production of oil. They say what the government should instead do is to remove restrictions on offshore and Alaskan drilling while letting market prices and profit motive operate freely.

But, in a  two year study of the oil industry by Amy Myers Jaffe at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, it was reported that the oil industry is spending a very small amount of their operating cash flow on exploration and development. Instead, they are spending the majority of their funds buying back company stock and returning profit to shareholders.

The oil industry continues to be one of the single largest contributors to influencing politics. The Center for Public Integrity says the oil and gas industry spent more than $440 Million dollars since 1998 on campaign contributions and lobbying. Exxon Mobil led the industry spending $55 Million dollars in Washington. They overwhelmingly spent the money on Republican candidates. Not surprisingly, while talking tough about big oil, John McCain has been the beneficiary of big oil contributions. In March, he attended a "round table" $25,000 a head fund raiser at the Denver Petroleum Club. His senior advisor Charlie Black is a registered lobbyist for oil companies.

So nothing changes. The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. Money still talks and global warming heats up. Sad.