Big Oil’s Big Problem
New survey finds that 89% of Americans want Congress to crack own on Big Oil’s price gouging
It’s officially Gemini season and you know what that means: summertime is almost here, and with that comes the start of summer driving season. For many Americans, that’s going to mean struggling with high gas prices. For Big Oil, it just means more greedy profiteering.
A new national survey released today by Fossil Free Media, Climate Power and League of Conservation Voters found that 69% of Americans said gas prices are a problem for them personally, with nearly a quarter of Americans claiming it to be a big problem. The good news is, Americans know who to blame: the oil companies and Big Oil CEOs who are gouging them at the pump.
Now, they want to see action. That means a rapid transition to clean energy, cracking down on Big Oil profiteering, and policies like a windfall profits tax. Democrats and progressives have the high ground in a policy debate about what to do about high energy prices, now it’s time they act.
Here’s the run-down of what our polling found, and what can be done to crack down on Big Oil and speed up clean energy:
The majority of Americans blame oil industry lobbyists (55%) and oil company CEOs (59%) for making things worse. (Bingo!)
9 in 10 Americans (89%) support leaders cracking down on oil and gas companies that engage in price gouging.
76% of Americans support passing a tax on the excess profits made by oil and gas companies.
66% of Americans disapprove of the federal government giving tax breaks and subsidies to oil and gas companies, while 78% support subsidies and tax breaks for clean energy.
When asked which people/groups were making things better or worse for consumers when it comes to energy prices, clean energy companies were the only group identified as making things better (+38), while oil companies, oil lobbyists, and oil CEOs were at the bottom of the list, only above Saudi Arabia and Vladimir Putin.
And here’s how our friends at Hart Research suggested that we all talk about these solutions:
Messaging on energy costs should lean into the public’s pre-existing anger over price gouging and government handouts to highly profitable big oil companies. The strongest-testing criticisms of big oil companies are:
PROFITS AND BUYBACKS: Big oil companies made over $400 billion in profits in 2022, a new record for the industry. Exxon alone made over $55 billion in profits last year. All while Big oil CEOs pocketed hundreds of millions in pay. But instead of giving people relief by lowering gas prices, they passed the profits on to their shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends.
PRICE GOUGING: CEOs of big oil companies are using worldwide inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as excuses to increase their prices and keep them high. While U.S. consumers and the rest of the world are suffering from decreased oil and gas supplies, the oil company CEOs are jacking up their prices to increase profits.
SUBSIDIES: Big oil companies have been getting tens of billions of dollars in subsidies from taxpayers for decades. But when inflation is soaring and the American people most need relief, these companies make it worse. In fact, they intentionally keep their prices high.
So where do we go from here?
Republicans have been trying to play offense around energy prices, but it’s Democrats and progressives who have the more popular agenda.
A big oil windfall profits tax – like the one introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Ro Khanna – is a common sense way to help families combat higher fossil fuel prices by taxing the excess earnings of fossil fuel companies, and 76% of Americans support it.
Voters know that investing in clean energy is the only real way to bring down high energy prices. So rather than allow fossil-fuel funded MAGA Republicans to repeal clean energy investments in destructive debt ceiling standoffs, Congress needs to stay strong and protect our clean energy future.
Despite how it may feel at times, most Americans are on the ball when it comes to the power of corporations and their role in our economy. The fact is, we are tired of being bossed around by greedy polluters who only have the wallets of shareholders in mind. Congress can and must pass no-nonsense legislation that holds Big Oil accountable and invests in clean energy programs. We’ve got their backs.
P.S - If you’re looking for something to angry-rant about on your next social outing, newly released pay information for ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods shows the oil giant prioritizing executive pay over working people. Woods’ total compensation increased by 52% last year, from $23.6M in 2021 to $35.95M in 2022. Meanwhile, median employee compensation went down by 9% in the same period. Yikes!
In the meantime, here’s some social guidance on the polling and high gas prices you can use to sound smart, educate the public, and increase the pressure!