The invisible fist

President Bush defended the huge profits of Exxon Mobil Corp., $10 billion dollars net profit for the last three months, saying they are simply the result of the marketplace and that consumers socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks. W, a former Texas oilman, said of oil costs, "I think that basically the price is determined by the marketplace and that's the way it should be."

I remember it well, the "invisible hand" of the marketplace. Last year it was a different story as the energy bill, shamefully passing with Democratic support, ballooned from $6.7 billion to $12.3 billion dollars and included billions of dollars in tax breaks, loan guarantees and other subsidies to the oil, coal and nuclear industry.

So it's let the "marketplace decide" when you collect the money from consumers but it's "let lobbying decide" when it's time to give away consumers' tax revenues paid to the federal government. I understand now. I understand that when you make $10 billion dollars profit in three months, and mind you that's only one oil company, you should also get tax breaks and subsidies because government knows best how to affect the behavior of companies rather than the marketplace.

We subsidize oil companies sitting on mountains of cash but we can't find the money to subsidize health insurance for all kids in America or teachers who are forced to buy pens and paper for their students. It's not the "invisible hand" guiding things anymore, it's the "invisible fist" of lobbyists around the throat of Congress that controls our government.