Failures in Oil Program

Via NY Times(requires free subscription):

The Interior Department’s program to collect billions of dollars annually from oil and gas companies that drill on federal lands is troubled by mismanagement, ethical lapses and fears of retaliation against whistle-blowers, the department’s chief independent investigator has concluded.

The report, a result of a yearlong investigation, grew out of complaints by four auditors at the agency, who said that senior administration officials had blocked them from recovering money from oil companies that underpaid the government.

This program is one of the largest sources of revenue for the US, and yet it is horribly mismanaged and mired in cronyism at the highest levels. The government's close relationship with oil companies has hurt the US. Many elected officials are tied to the oil industry (See George W. Bush) and cannot afford to force beneficial change in the regulation of it. When gas prices rise to the height of giving people the choice between driving to work and starving or eating, but being forced to bike or take mass transit, maybe people will see that these oil companies have not been just keeping up with inflation but have been squeezing us for every ounce of money they can get to fill their already-inflated bank accounts.