I almost missed Jim Hightower's checklist of big oil's most recent tax write-offs:

• BP can write off 70 percent of the rent it paid to TransOcean for the oil rig "rental." - $225,000 per day
• TransOcean moves its offices to Switzerland and avoids paying $1.8 billion in U.S. taxes.
• Exxon Mobil raked in $19 billion in profit, but thanks to available subsidies, it got a $156-million tax refund.

Benefits for the unemployed are subject to "debate" but corporate welfare gets the backing of the Congressional oil whore caucus until forever.