>> Well, the oil industry is suffering, and AOC basically posted a celebratory tweet in
regard to what we're seeing. It's a decrease in demand for oil, and we have an oversupply
of fossil fuels. And so, as a result, the cost per barrel has gone down significantly,
in some cases even in the negative numbers.
So in a now deleted tweet AOC wrote you absolutely love to see it. This along with record low
interest rates mean it's the right time for a worker-led mass investment in green infrastructure
to save our planet. And I don't know why she deleted that because she's absolutely right.
I mean, if we want to think about the future of jobs in this country, something that's
more sustainable, we would invest in renewable energy. We would adapt to a changing environment.
Not only for the economy, but more importantly, to be able to actually live on this planet,
which fossil fuels obviously increasingly make it difficult to do so.
So she later deleted it because a bunch of Republicans started attacking her, like they
typically do. This is a tweet by republican congressman Jody Arrington. He says I don't
love to see it. I don't love to see oil and gas workers and their rural communities suffering
as a result of this devastating price collapse.
Places like West Texas and hard-working men and women in the oil patch power the bright
lights of New York City, including the hospitals. But Arrington knows that those jobs, much
like the coal jobs, are going to be antiquated, extinct, whatever you want to say, in the
coming years.
So if he actually cares about protecting those hard-working men and women, he would actually
advocate for investing in renewable energy. But nonetheless, since the fossil fuel industry
is really struggling right now, Donald Trump wants to come in and save the day. I'll give
you the details on that in just a second.
But Cenk, I'd like you to jump in first. >> Progressive so plan that's in the green
new deal for how to help and transition workers in industries that are hurting us. So whether
it's coal or oil, or the insurance industry, it's not like they didn't think of that.
Of course they thought of that. Their top priority's American workers. So they have
a great plan for that, and the subsidies to renewable energies would help transition those
workers and maybe even increase their pay. So secondly, look, these oil companies are
struggling now. But in the past, they were the most profitable companies in the world.
And I don't mean 100 years ago, I mean, like a couple of years ago. Now the tech companies
are the most profitable. But oil companies have been in the top ten most profitable in
the world for decade after decade after decade. They took home all of those billions of dollars
in profits.
That's gone. Now, they turn around and go, I want money from the taxpayer, I'm in trouble.
Well, okay, why don't you go get those billions of dollars stored in you house and then maybe
we could have a conversation. No, no, I get it, you want socialism for the rich.
So when you were making money and you were profitable, God capitalism, baby, don't regulate
me, it's good, man, capitalism's awesome, yeah. I'm not making money now, please, please
I want socialism, please, taxpayers, bail me out. My answer to that is hell to the no,
no effing way. And we should not give one red cent to these guys.
>> So as we know, the only thing that Donald Trump cares about is the stock market. It's
what he cites when he wants to mention his so-called accomplishments as President. And
so, the fossil fuel industry taking a hit as a result of COVID-19 is dragging the stock
market down today.
And so, and has been for a few days now. And so, Trump, during one of his recent press
conferences, floated a plan or an idea to save the industry. Let's take a look.
>> Low price of oil that you've been seeing. It's at a level that's very interesting to
a lot of people.
We're filling up our national petroleum reserves, strategic, you know the strategic reserves,
and we're looking to put as much as 75 million barrels into the reserves themselves. That
would top it out. That would be first time in a long time it's been topped out. We'd
get it for the right price.
You know the price of oil right now, don't you?
>> I do. Do you know the price of oil? >> I do, I actually do.
>> It' s negative $37. >> Of course, nobody's ever heard of negative
oil before, but it's for a short term. >> Are you asking for funding-
>> Well, at a minimum, we'll let people store. So we'll store it. We'll use it as storage.
And charge for it. If we could buy it for nothing, we're gonna take everything we can
get. The only thing I like better than that is where they pay you to take the oil.
But that's a short-term-squeeze, you understand that. So I don't think you're gonna see that.
But no, we'd like to have Congress, this is a great time to buy oil.
>> Okay, so what he's proposing is that the US government purchase oil and then keep it
in the reserves that the government has.
So it has the capacity for 797 million barrels. And as of March of this year, the inventory
was already at 635 million barrels. So there is some suspicion that he's going to have
the government rent more space in order to purchase more oil because there's an abundance
of supply.
>> This is a form of a subsidy because he's buying oil that they cannot sell on the open
market. And oil that we don't need because we have a massive amount of reserves, as Anna
just pointed out to you. So it's a way of helping his donors, who are oil executives.
And so, that's how we get robbed. Look, there's nothing you can do about what Trump can do
through an executive order. But if they try to pass any legislation, any democrat that
votes for one penny going to the oil companies should be primary, should be thrown out of
office.
And I'm not telling it to you in hindsight, I'm telling it to you ahead of time. So don't
give me this crap later about, no, you gotta support every democrat. No, no, I'm telling
you ahead of time, they should not support Donald Trump. If you're animated about fighting
Donald Trump, then don't agree with him on subsidizing oil companies.
You know one of the things that Trump's doing right now, his administration? They are considering
letting the coal companies get rid of a tax that would help coal miners that have black
lung disease. Then they pretend they're doing it for the workers. No, they're gonna let
the workers die from black lung disease and get to catch a tax break because they found
a good opportunity during a crisis.
That's how these guys operate. It's never for your benefit.