Donald Trump has suggested US taxpayers could reimburse energy companies for repairing Venezuelan infrastructure for extracting and shipping oil.
Trump acknowledged that “a lot of money” would need to be spent to increase oil production in Venezuela after US forces ousted its leader, Nicolás Maduro, but suggested his government could pay oil companies to do the work.
“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue,” the president said.
The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, reportedly plans to meet representatives of Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil at the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami later this week.
96 Comments
HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works · 151 pts · 256d
And there it is America. You will be paying for the oil baron's windfall.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca · 39 pts · 256d
They're already paying. They're about to pay more. 😄
wizzor@sopuli.xyz · 108 pts · 256d
Public costs and private profits eh?
I think even a general strike would fall short as an action.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 9 pts · 255d
So much capitalism. What a free market /s
SinningStromgald@lemmy.world · 68 pts · 256d
If oil companies invest in Venezuela that is their problem not the US taxpayers problem.
This man somehow gets dumber every single day. I didn't think there were IQ's below zero but he is proving otherwise.
floofloof@lemmy.ca · 64 pts · 256d
He's dumb, but this is deliberate. The whole point is to take public funds and give them to the wealthy while making it impossible for the poor to live.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca · 26 pts · 256d
This drives everything, doesn't it. Even when it doesn't look like it on the surface, look for an upwards redistribution scheme is and you find the logic behind the madness.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 255d
Stealing from the poor to give to the rich...
lka1988@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 255d
Yeah. This isn't the first time we as taxpayers have paid for "infrastructure upgrades" with nothing to show for it. They straight up pocketed the money.
WanderingThoughts@europe.pub · 11 pts · 255d
We thought we were going to end with techno feudalism. Turns out it's just plain ol' feudalism.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 256d
WDYM not US taxpayer problem, who paid for the special military operation, that's supposed to enable oil corpos to "invest"?
circuitfarmer@lemmy.world · 61 pts · 255d
pilferjinx@piefed.social · 11 pts · 255d
The US wants to kill off the non working citizens and funnel those savings to the oligarchy. Such efficiency. We really need to start hunting billionaires.
UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 254d
Final stage capitalism
danc4498@lemmy.world · 49 pts · 256d
Hey, um, congress? What the fuck are you waiting for?
timewarp@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 256d
They're waiting on their buy options
baines@piefed.social · 7 pts · 255d
their cut
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 255d
For someone to remind them of what the consequences of an unsatisfied population are I guess
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 32 pts · 256d
This alone would be over the top satirical fiction of a thoroughly corrupt government in most modern countries. To the point where the premise would risk rejection by editors for being too fucking blatant about it! 🤦
OpenStars@piefed.social · 30 pts · 256d
So if we pay for it, we'll own the product... r-r-right?!
HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works · 25 pts · 256d
Every year, on the anniversary of Maduro's kidnapping, you would allowed to dip your finger in a pot of crude and keep what sticks to your skin.
That is all.
OpenStars@piefed.social · 8 pts · 256d
timewarp@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 256d
The real reason Trump took out Maduro. He dances better than him without jacking two guys off at the same time.
umbrella@lemmy.ml · 29 pts · 255d
UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 254d
GG no RE
Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 23 pts · 256d
AbidanYre@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 256d
We need to start looking into French inventors of the late 18th century.
rayyy@piefed.social · 10 pts · 255d
They are looking into a tax strike , especially MAGAs, as well as a general strike .
QuarterSwede@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 255d
And how does one go about doing that?
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 255d
Jesus you can't avoid relying on some third-party hosting even for this? This is just asking to have your content removed due to "ToS violations"
Peruvian_Skies@sh.itjust.works · 22 pts · 255d
Everybody who voted for this imbecile should be forced to reimburse the rest of the world for the damage he and his cronies are doing. Everything they own plus twelve years of indentured servitude would be a very small first step.
nforminvasion@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 255d
At least. Honesty, when they're starving in the coming depression and when their kids are bleeding out on a battlefield, they'll suffer enough. They might not be cognizant of it and they'll do the whole mental gymnastics but those conditions affect your subconscious and physical health beyond what you can ignore
presoak@lazysoci.al · -7 pts · 255d
You really think things would be different if the other sock puppet got elected?
frog_brawler@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 255d
presoak@lazysoci.al · -1 pts · 255d
Neither?
demonsword@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 255d
The other candidate would probably try to at least keep the appearances that we live in a civilized world, and that international law and treaties work. The Big Orange Turd doesn't care for such niceties.
UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 254d
Things would be different, but not what we deserve. We deserve multiple political parties to choose from that represent us all. Not a duo poly holding us hostage.
Peruvian_Skies@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 255d
Obviously they would. Maybe not better (though almost certainly so) but definitely different.
presoak@lazysoci.al · -1 pts · 255d
There's the quiet sneaky puppet and the loud aggressive puppet. They switch them appropriately. They're basically there to give us something to yell at.
0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -1 pts · 255d
They're not thinking at all. They are just using talking points from their "party" on deflecting any responsibility for the fascist actions of their country and turning the blame on someone else to feel self righteous.
Hypocrisy is something yankistanis are born with. Pathetic spineless rags.
Have no doubt, they'll throw anyone under the bus. They're only bothered this war criminal is from the wrong party, other wise they'd be kissing ass.
CanadaPlus@futurology.today · 22 pts · 254d
So he invaded Venezuala for oil money, but is planning to take a loss so that other people can sell that oil for him.
A genius businessman, everybody.
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 254d
Double and triple losses. I'm certain the oil companies already wrote off their losses and were made whole on our dime as well.
The coolest thing? I was just watching a news story claiming it may take one or more decades to get things in order there. Billions and literal decades with nothing to show.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 254d
by that time, renewables would already dominate the market for decades already.
sfgifz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 254d
Not if they ban those radioactive windmills first!
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 254d
God I hope so.
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 255d
I feel like we could save a lot of money on waste fraud and abuse if we threw Shitler and the Turd Reich into Lake Michigan
Insekticus@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 255d
No! Don't pollute the waterways like that. There is a perfectly good zone on Venus we could launch them and they could enjoy the climate they keep working so hard to achieve.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 254d
and the oligarchs that supported him.
RunawayFixer@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 255d
That article reads like they're trying to sell the bear's skin before they've caught it. They kidnapped the Venezuelan leader, but the rest of the old regime is still in power. The USA doesn't control anything on the ground, yet they're talking as if it's a done deal and that they can just walk in and take over.
I also wouldn't want to be a us oil company employee that gets send over to Venezuela. Even if the USA somehow manages to take control of the oil fields, there's likely to be a lot of sabotage and guerilla attacks.
shalafi@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 254d
Yep. The US can't exert real control without boots on the ground. Boots who would, once again, find themselves fighting angry, and well armed, citizens.
ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one · 17 pts · 254d
Socialize loss, privatize profits.
elucubra@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 254d
I believe this saying would be more accurate stated as follows:
Nationalize debt, privatize profit.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 17 pts · 255d
FUCK THAT!
If taxpayers pay for it, then taxpayers should receive the profits.
Why the fuck should taxpayers finance capitalist ventures that only enrich the shareholders?
stringere@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 254d
Because fascism == corporatism, and we'rr living under a fascist regime.
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 254d
I hate to break it to you, but Trump sort of wants all of our money.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 254d
Greedy bastards will never be satisfied.
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 254d
At my age I think that is the only course in system that allows unrestricted hoarding of resources.
I don't think these people have anything outside of their need to hoard in life. It is a mental illness.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 254d
I agree with you completely and I've been calling it out for years. People treated me like I was a crackpot for saying things like "infinite pursuit of growth is neither possible nor desirable." Or "life isn't a zero-sum game and a system that's built to uplift everyone is better than a system designed to maximize gains for a few."
Clearly there aren't many leftists around me, or at least the ones who are hate me for different reasons. Maybe because I said MLs are authoritarians and no better than maga. I like democracy, it's capitalism that needs to go. The Nordic model seemed to work just fine until right-wing propagandists invaded Scandinavia.
Oh, I also compared capitalists to cancerous growths, and that made the oligarchs feel so oppressed. Maybe that's why billionaires these days are comparing themselves to holocaust victims. Those poor billionaires... won't anyone think of the shareholders?
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 254d
they are also obsessed with longevity, they want to outlive the people they exploited so they dont come after them, plus to remain relevant.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 254d
Well I hope their bodies reject the transplants and they die on the operating table
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 254d
Sounds likely. I don't know many that aren't terrified of a society that glorifies unreasonable accumulation.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 254d
Because they think it would allow them to do the same...
...while they work into their seventies because a full retirement is out of reach for most of the working class...
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 254d
his wealth has grown like 3x since he was elected, before that he was losing quite a bit of money fending of lawsuits and other cases in court.
UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 254d
Cool, we can just make a new currency
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 254d
I'm no expert and would love to be told if this is wrong, from what I've heard, oil companies won't be doing jack shit so I don't think you will need to worry about your tax dollars reimbursing them.
Oil is barely profitable for investment at the moment.
If it was they could invest into US oil in the permian basin where there is still billions of barrels to go. Drill baby drill, I belive they say.
Investment would be much more stable in the US because fuck knows what is going to happen in venuzula in the next year, let alone in the next administration. They would probably lose it all over again.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 254d
It would be profitable for them if they get the taxpayers to cover all their expenses while keeping the gains for themselves.
It would be evil, but capitalism doesn't care about that. They only care about what's profitable, even if everyone else suffers as a result.
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 254d
Oh, well yeah if the tax payers are tax paying then yes they are pretty fucked but I still don't see them actually building anything.
He couldn't even build a wall last time, she'll be right mate.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 254d
I like your optimism, but walls don't extract oil...
fodor@lemmy.zip · 12 pts · 254d
Lol Donny you're losing the thread here you gotta pretend to fuck over foreigners, not Americans. Come on now, focus!
stringere@sh.itjust.works · 12 pts · 254d
Earnest wuestion: How does one find out about events like this with sufficient notice to organize protests to disrupt and shut these kinds of meetings down?
yesman@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 256d
The oil companies don't want to invest because in 10y when production recovers, who knows what oil prices will be? Even if they could pump it out tomorrow, Oil is cheap, and driving it down would bankrupt American oil production.
The logic of "addiction to foreign oil" is outdated. America is an energy exporter.
Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 256d
The US exports light crude, but has to import heavy crude.
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone · 10 pts · 254d
They’ve always been doing this anyway. Your taxes fund dividends.
qyron@sopuli.xyz · 10 pts · 254d
Wait! Isn't socialism, according to the american doctrine, a very bad thing?
Nikelui@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 254d
Reimbursing oil companies does not seem like socialism.
PanGodofPanic@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 254d
It's socialism for ✨corporations✨
qyron@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 254d
It's hard to pass as "sound investment", also.
verdi@feddit.org · 9 pts · 255d
That sounds a lot like communism 🤔
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 9 pts · 254d
what an absolute scam wizard
SuiXi3D@fedia.io · 9 pts · 256d
If this keeps up I’m just gonna stop paying taxes. So sick of this shit.
floofloof@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 256d
You need organized mass resistance, not individual actions.
finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 255d
Gosh, that's nice of 'em! Where's the, "I don't want one cent of MUH TAXES going to fund foreigners" crowd now?
Furbag@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 254d
"America First".
Lmao.
Imagine being a MAGA brainlet in 2026.
falseWhite@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 256d
SuiXi3D@fedia.io · 2 pts · 256d
The fuck we will.
stylusmobilus@aussie.zone · 7 pts · 256d
Yeah you will.
Electing a president is a national responsibility. He acts in the name of the United States.
Voting is important.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 256d
Worth noting that people elected this president in part on the promise to not start wars or do regime changes. Voting for peace did not produce what the voters wanted.
stylusmobilus@aussie.zone · 10 pts · 256d
I don’t think anyone with any brains thought electing Trump would bring peace.
Edit: you’re right though, people actually did vote for him believing that
HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 255d
stylusmobilus@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 255d
Hahahaha that’s awesome
lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 254d
Resistance becomes necessary once any crime becomes legalized in a mobocracy.
worhui@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 255d
I am surprised to hear such a realistic assessment.
I thought this was going to be like the wall or tariffs, but yeah the us tax payer will fund the foreign country’s infrastructure.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 254d
just like we bailed out one of bailed out us investors in argentina with 40bn.
Gammelfisch@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 254d
Those fucks already receive billions in corporate socialism.
Taldan@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 256d
Really salting the wound for anyone working in US oil production, which is a lot considering the US is the world's largest crude exporter
lorski@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 255d
HELL FUCKING NO
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 254d
We pay for the honer of paying more later. Its the circle of grift.
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io · 4 pts · 256d
Finally, a politician who thinks of the poor oil corporations!
fort_burp@feddit.nl · 3 pts · 254d
Paul Singer will take this all the way up to the Supreme Court... again.
raynethackery@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 256d
BotsRuinedEverything@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 255d
I mean... Isn't that what taxes are?
captainlezbian@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 256d