Petroleum based business success. In a bottle. Someone call the White House...
On Monday, March 16th, President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner made the case for American small business during a White House press conference. It was an encouraging development for many of the small business owners and employees that help drive the American economy. However, taken together, President Obama’s plan to assist small businesses and his FY10 budget proposal send a mixed message. The summation of recent statements made by both Obama and Geithner now suggest that while they value what defines independent producers, responsible for 90 percent of American natural gas and oil wells, they are still in favor of imposing detrimental tax proposals on these American small businesses.
With a median number of 12 employees, independent producers are American small businesses by definition, and the Obama administration should have clarified their support for what natural gas and oil independents really are. The budget outline proposed by the President would eliminate eight key provisions that aid America’s smaller natural gas and oil companies. The effect would cripple the independent producers that find and provide American energy for the nation, and would negate any improvement that might be seen from the small business announcement made.
The following is a closer look at the comments made by the President and Secretary Geithner during the press conference. Continue reading
