TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY • December 13, 2024
Why in the world should the public provide giant subsidies to the giant corporations that are rushing us to climate catastrophe? Showered with tens of millions of dollars in oil and gas campaign contributions, President-elect Donald Trump is poised to pay back the favor likely thousands of times over — at public expense. Trump and his pro-fossil fuel corporate cronies seem ready to put their thumb on the scale for Big Oil, bolstering their already robust subsidies — billions of dollars that perpetuate a system of environmental degradation and economic injustice. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for the Interior Department, which leases onshore land and offshore water for oil and gas production, has spent years promoting a scheme allowing his state’s fossil fuel industry to keep drilling. For the sake of our economy, our environment, and future generations, it’s time to leave fossil fuel subsidies in the past. ~ Robert Weissman, Public Citizen