Republican Boehner hints at cutting energy co subsidies as the anger in US society builds

John Boehner is a Republican and he is talking now about cutting the government subsidies to oil companies. Boehner is the speaker of the House of Representatives. "It's certainly something we should be looking at," Boehner said in an ABC News interview. He went further, "We're in a time when the federal government's short on revenues. They ought to be paying their fair share." "Everybody wants to go after the oil companies and frankly, they've got some part of this to blame," he said.

Boehner is saying this for one reason and one reason only; he is a little more tuned in to the anger that is reaching boiling point in US society.  Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor of California and the candidate of the Labor hierarchy is to the right of Boehner.  Brown has not mentioned the fact that California is the only state that doesn't tax oil as it comes out of the ground.  Instead, Brown, with the support of the heads of organized Labor, wants to increase taxes on workers and the middle class cutting deeper in to disposable income.

The energy companies receive $3.6 billion in annual oil, natural gas and coal subsidies and the mood is so tense out there that even the slick Obama has called for Congress to eliminate the subsidies which, according to Reuters, would add "$46.2 billion over a decade and help pay for clean energy initiatives."

Boehner is reacting to a recent New York Times-CBS News poll that found 70% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and experts believe high gas prices contribute considerably to this mood.  This would be especially so in California where public transport is worthless and people cannot get to work for the most part without their cars.

What this shows is that it doesn't matter which party is in power.  Depending on the mood, and depending especially on the level of organization of the working class, Republicans are just as likely to concede ground as the Democrats.  In my local Union, Democrats were unable to get endorsements for an extended period as the local fought openly for Labor candidates and had some influence in the local and national Labor movement in the struggle for an independent workers party based on the trade Unions. The more we headed in that direction, the more concessions they would throw at us to head it off.

We should have no illusions in Boehner of course because there is no such thing as "shared sacrifice".  It's like elections which are a gauge of the mood in society. Bohener's shift in position and suggestion we cut subsidies to his long time friends is a reflection of his fear of the working class, nothing else.

If the energy companies don't like it, and they are whining about it costing jobs, then we can nationalize them.