text: Should have said among the most profitable, then. I'm sure you enjoy tour smart phone made by $2.00/hr non-american, non-tax paying labor. Same with most of the clothes you wear. Yet those corporations bring in their products, tariff free, and we can afford them. Not saying we should have tariffs, just that it's a little more complicated than that and government subsidies come in many forms.
  What about colleges that put gender studies people into lifetime debt because government subsidized loans drive up the price of tuition.
  I often see people on these posts that are all for the state investing in the gasline or taking over oil production, outright, and keeping all of the profit. How is that any different than giving tax credits as a defacto "partner'' and making many times that amount back in royalties and other taxes.
  The current tax structure has encouraged exploration and production. Maximum benefit of the people does not necessarily mean maximum money for the state to dole out.