As motorists struggle to afford gas, Big Oil profits

Record inflation and rising gas prices continue to squeeze the wallets of everyday residents who still have not fully recovered financially, though some industries like Big Oil seem to be benefiting from this situation. I commend Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature for including a gas tax suspension in the state budget removing 16 cents per gallon at the pump and easing the burden on New Yorkers.

Some counties have gone further to suspend their own gas sales tax. While their intentions are good, if Albany County were to do the same, at the time of this writing, it would only save the average driver approximately $3 a month, assuming two fillups during that time. That’s also assuming that the savings would even be passed onto drivers at all.

That $3 a month, though, comes to almost $1.9 million in lost sales tax revenue in Albany County each quarter if taxes were capped at $2 per gallon. This impacts each of the county’s municipalities, translating into nearly $237,000 in lost revenue going to Albany alone, and over $204,000 in losses for Colonie — each quarter.

This revenue helps to keep other taxes low and would ultimately have to be made up for in property taxes. Additionally, the county’s share of that revenue is what helps fund such vital things as mental health and addiction treatment services and repairing roads and bridges.

While it’s critical to help consumers cut costs, a few dollars in savings a month is not enough. We need to find real solutions that make a significant difference in their lives. It’s also important to be fiscally responsible about how the county is using taxpayer dollars. If an economic recession is in our future, we need to be ready with reserves on hand to avoid any disruption in services.

Even as many New Yorkers struggle to make ends meet, Big Oil is doing quite well, recording skyrocketing profits. Exxon Mobil reported more “modest” gains compared to others of $5.48 billion in profits — more than doubling their earnings in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first three months of 2021. The profits of others, like Shell, came in at $9.1 billion, nearly three times what they brought in during 2021’s first quarter. How many of our local businesses can say that they doubled their profits over the last year? How many residents can say that they doubled their salaries during that time? Not very many, I’d wager.

There was a time when the

high price of oil was blamed on a lack of supply, but now we know this isn’t true, as supply steadily increases with the release of strategic oil reserves while prices are still rising. What’s even more alarming is that the price per barrel of oil has dropped dramatically since the beginning of March, but the price per gallon of gasoline during that time has either gone up or remained virtually flat.

This must stop now. Big Oil must be held accountable, and I’m calling on my partners in state and federal government to investigate their pricing practices. I’m calling on my fellow elected officials to continue to demand massive oil corporations and their executives demonstrate their corporate consciences and social responsibilities to the American people who are dealing with the highest inflation in four decades by providing them with desperately needed financial relief at the pump.