We talked last week about Harold Hamm, one of the planet’s wealthiest billionaires, who was named Mitt Romney’s top adviser on energy policy right around the time he contributed nearly $1 million to Romney’s super PAC.
Today, the conservative oilman was on Capitol Hill, making the case for — what else? — tax subsidies for oil companies.
The U.S. must retain tax breaks that help independent oil and gas producers, said Harold Hamm, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc.
Companies should continue to be able to expense intangible drilling costs rather than deduct them over time, said Hamm, who also is an energy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Sure, we could let the free market operate on its own, but Hamm — who said he was speaking today in a personal capacity — prefers a system in which taxpayers offer breaks to oil companies, giving them an edge other companies in other American industries don’t enjoy.
Romney, who’s convinced President Obama opposes the principles of free enterprise, made Hamm the chairman of his “Energy Policy Advisory Group,” putting Hamm in a position to shape a new “pro-jobs, pro-market, pro-American” energy agenda, which Romney would presumably pursue if elected.
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