Oklahoma Gives Massive Breaks to Oil Companies while Schools Lack Storm Shelters

[Scuba]

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/oklahoma-oil-companies-tax-breaks-schools-lack-storm-shelters/

Oklahoma is notorious for tornadoes, and really big ones. As the first settlers in the state showed up, I’m pretty sure they encountered a twister or two right away. Then again on May 20th, 2013, and in 2003, and in 1999 and many times before – the people of that state have experienced this destructive force. This isn’t a new thing. This isn’t a freak, late-season hurricane that struck an area that doesn’t usually get them. It’s not a rare earthquake in a state that’s never felt them. It’s a tornado, something that happens all the time in “Tornado Alley.”

So why aren’t there storm shelters in every school? Certainly Oklahoma, which boasts the 5th largest oil production in the United States, could afford to do it. They’ve claimed that they couldn’t afford the cost and that they’ve applied for grant money from FEMA to do it, but when the state gives over $200 million in breaks to the oil companies, there’s no excuse why they couldn’t supply every school and government building with a shelter that could survive the worst of twisters. It’s not that they can’t, it’s that lobbyist money has bought and paid for legislators who will advance the profits of the 1% over the lives of the residents of Oklahoma and their children.

Forcing these companies off corporate welfare isn’t going to cause them to pack up and leave. You can’t pick up an oil field and move it to a state with a lower tax rate. So what if it causes the price I pay at the pump to go up a few cents because the multi-billion dollar drilling businesses have to play by the same rules as the small business owners? Local communities should be able to provide something as common sense as a storm shelter, and the fact that this hasn’t been done is not only mindboggling, but absolutely tragic.

[Socialistlemur]

1. Could you provide more detail to support your claim?

I don't want to sound skeptical, but I wonder if you could give us more detail. For example what is the exact nature of this tax break, how is it calculated, and whether it impacts federal taxes.

[Cal Carpenter]

2. If you follow the link in the above post

There is a link to this document with a lot of detail about how this works:

http://okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Unnecessary-and-Unaffordable.pdf

[ananda]

4. How it works in one easy lesson.

money flows in to oil companies and ..

.. then it "mysteriously" flows out to suchlike people, officials,
and organizations who do not believe in climate change or
big government or regulations... unless. they happen to need
money for themselves in order to get disaster relief that for
some other "mysterious" reason only they deserve, even though
all this disaster occurred because of their own selfish boneheaded
greed and ignorance.

Easypeasy.

[Scuba]

3. Not my claim of course, but that of the author and publisher. Here's the link ...

... to the detail regarding the tax breaks as linked in the article.

http://okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Unnecessary-and-Unaffordable.pdf

Thanks to Cal Carpenter too!

[leftyohiolib]

11. why do the details matter - giving a hugely profitable company tax breaks while telling the peons

there's no money for YOUR safety is wrong regardless of the details

[bhikkhu]

5. Thanks Obama!

More palette-loads of cash straight from the white house to the 1%! Its true because I read it right here!

[Bohunk68]

6. A palette is not

the same thing as a pallet. If you meant your remark as sarcasm, you should have been a little better at it.

[geek tragedy]

9. It is snark, but it's also sad that such it's completely

plausible that someone would actually believe that kind of crap.

[bhikkhu]

16. Let me try that again

Thanks Obama! More pallet lodes of cash strait from the white house to the 1%!

(one has to get into character)

[dothemath]

20. but, but, but ................

doesn't most of that go to billionaire muslim socialists intent on imposing sharia law on all
Americans? just sayin'

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Shah...you are speaking ill.

And we all know shelters and building regulations are both government intrusions.

Some of the reactions to both help from outside the state, and the mere idea that shelters should become a priority make more sense at the national level. As in what countries do after a disaster out of false national pride.

In the meantime the rest of us will continue to subsidize this, cause...shit, we're Americans.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Federal_funding_impact_runs_deep_in_Oklahoma/20110724_16_a17_tulsas71261

But hey...they hate the Feds but love the money.

I know I was evil this morning, but could not help to wonder if all federal money and teams just went poof? I am willing to bet...reconstruction would be really, really slow.

[liberal N proud]

8. No look over there - it is a poor family getting aid

That is the real concern, welfare, not corporate tax evasion.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. The city of Moore

Advised residents in February that their request for a FEMA grant to be used to build public shelters was on hold. KJRH news in Tulsa is reporting that the request was not considered a priority by FEMA because Moore had not experienced any recent disasters in the previous 5 years.

[dothemath]

21. the request was on hold due ....

to the influence of Coburn and the other senator (I haved ruled I can't say or write his name). FEMA spends taxpayer money and it doesn't go to politicians, tea party of other. Need I say more?

[bluedigger]

12. Times are dire in Oklahoma.

Did you realize they are also lowballing their coaching staff?

OU Football | 2013 Coaching Carousel | Time To Loosen Up The Purse Strings

As much of you know, the current predicament Bob Stoops currently finds himself in is one unlike any he has experienced thus far as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. In the span of less than a week. Stoops has fired three of his assistant coaches. One of whom was arguably his closest friend by most accounts, another someone who has been with him practically since the day he took over in Norman, still another who had been here for seven years which is no small feat given the cutthroat nature of this business.

...

But you know all of this already. So what's my point you may be asking. The point the changes Stoops made with his coaching staff were not the only necessary changes needing to be made. It's time for the powers that be at the University of Oklahoma to loosen up the purse strings a little bit.

...

It's probably not fair to call Oklahoma cheap when it comes to paying their assistants, it is fair to say their assistant's salaries have not been on the same level as many of the other elite level football programs. Some quick 2012 salary references to illustrate my point.

James Patton OU $272,000

Joe Wickline OSU $440,000

Jeff Stoutland Bama $395,000

Stacy Searls UT $439,500

Rick Trickett FSU $416,150

Ed Warinner tOSU $357,800

...

As Stoops' agent and account would be happy to attest, they (OU) clearly do not have a problem paying Bob whatever is necessary to keep him happy. (And if that, in some way, happens to fund some trips to Italy to pick up handmade tile for they foyer in your shiny new Norman compound then consider it a happy accident. I kid, Bob. The house looks great, at least from the outside.) Well news flash everyone: Bob Stoops isn't doing this by himself. And I can pretty much guarantee you he would be the first person to tell you that.

http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2013/2/14/3986608/ou-football-2013-coaching-carousel-oklahoma-sooners-bob-mike-stoops-fired#comments

It's clear that Oklahoma needs to raise it's coaches budgets if they want to compete with the rest of the country in college football, and it's really nice that they can count on FEMA to chip in!

[AtheistCrusader]

13. They deliberately chose not to build shelters.

Whatever 'expert' they hired claimed they would be counter-productive. So they spent millions on stupid shit like a press box for the school football stadium instead.

They CHOSE not to build shelters. Let that sink in. It was deliberate.

"On May 3, 1999, one of the most violent tornadoes ever recorded struck central Oklahoma, including the northwest part of Moore in its path. Warning for this event was outstanding - one research survey suggests that over 95% of the people in central Oklahoma knew of the tornado and its location. While many people evacuated, many others took shelter in their homes. The vast majority of these people...in fact all but three in Moore...survived! Their homes were destroyed, but the people survived. Emergency management and weather warning professionals see this as a testiment to the tornado safety rules have been advocated for years: "In homes or small buildings, go to the basement (if available) or to an interior room on the lowest floor, such as a closet or bathroom. Wrap yourself in overcoats or blankets to protect yourself from flying debris." May 3rd was an extremely unique event weatherwise. There has never been such a strong and violent tornado ever in the recorded history of the City of Moore. Statistically, there is only about a 1-2% chance of a tornado - of any size - striking Moore on any particular day during the spring. But of all tornados that do strike us (again, not very many historically), there's only a less than 1% chance of it being as strong and violent as what we experienced on May 3rd. Put another way, there's a very small likelihood of Moore being struck by a tornado. There's an extremely smaller chance of Moore experiencing another "May 3rd" type event. If we are struck again, it will very likely be by a much less intense storm. Sheltering in your residence - assuming it is a reasonably-well constructed home - is the best option. The opinion of our emergency management severe weather professionals is that community sheltering is not only not possible in our situation, but not advisable."

[fasttense]

18. Having people get in their cars and run off to community shelters

is not a good idea with a Tornado. It causes backed up traffic, preventing emergency vehicles from moving and it puts more people outside to risk high winds and flying debris.

But putting in storm shelters in schools is a very good idea in tornado alley. The kids are there anyway, moving them underground for safety would have been a far better decision. What the fools who claim to be experts are relying on is that the US will continue to have the same kind of weather patterns they have had for the last 4 decades. The problem with that kind of thinking is that global warming, or climate change, has changed the odds drastically. No longer can you count on those locations that have not had dangerous weather events will continue to NOT have dangerous weather events. The risk of severe and frequent destructive weather has increased all over the US and places that have never seen these dangers will be seeing them more frequently and more severely.

So what those fools who called themselves "emergency management severe weather professionals" did NOT take into account is the new reality of extremely dangerous weather events happening more often due to increased earth temperatures. Even the insurance corporations are complaining about the weather and increased risk in in low risk areas.

[AtheistCrusader]

23. In that region

any public building that gathers large numbers of people should be, or contain a shelter for this purpose. Don't have to build the whole school like a bomb shelter, but a couple feet of concrete and steel into the gymnasium, lunch room, auditorium to be used as a central shelter, is a prudent investment.

I'm shocked they didn't do it.

I agree, trying to get the entire community to rush to central shelters is not wise. Instant traffic lock-up, and people trapped in cars when the tornado arrives. Better solution for that is building codes to cause 'safe rooms' of a sort in new construction, maybe tax rebates for reinforcing a room in an existing residence.

[kestrel91316]

14. School children are slackers, moochers, and useless eaters.

They deserve NOTHING.

Oil companies, OTOH, are the most virtuous entities on the planet. They should be allowed to bill taxpayers for every penny of their operating expenses.

[Scuba]

19. Congratulations! You're qualified to be a Repubican!

No, you don't have to believe any of it just spout it. Hypocisy is a Republican core value.

[NewJeffCT]

15. So, not only are these oil companies getting huge federal subsidies

they're also getting state subsidies, too.

[Horse with no Name]

17. Well to be fair

Chesapeake did give $1 million of their free money back...talk about a double dip.

They take $2 million--give back $1 million. Get tons of free goodwill publicity and still have $1 million free money in their pocket.

Good day to be Chesapeake in Oklahoma!

[xtraxritical]

22. If you're going to enact this legislation also include a statement to the fact that the companies

may not "pass thru", or otherwise expense these costs. Make them really pay.

[Initech]

24. Why do oil companies get free money when they rake in billions every quarter?

This shit has to stop!!! We can't allow these fuckers to loot our treasury at the expense of our lives any more! What's it going to take to get people to rise up against these corrupt criminal pieces of shit????