Reason #69: The Seven Brothers Own Our Asses

You can’t comprehend the current energy crisis-and our lack of action to fix it-without understanding our long history of attachment to oil. For most of the twentieth century, seven western oil companies controlled most of the world’s oil. Made up of private American and European firms like Texaco and Shell, they earned the nickname, “The Seven Sisters,” though they were anything but ladylike. The sisters busted into foreign markets, paid off corrupt leaders for control of their countries’ supplies, and ruled over 90 percent of the oil industry with an iron fist.

Thuggery is nothing new to the oil industry, and quite often, Americans have played that role.

But the reign of the Seven Sisters has been over for decades. They’ve now been replaced by a different group of corporations pundit Mort Zuckerman dubbed the “Seven Brothers.” If you thought the Sisters were nasty, the Brothers are even worse. They’re all state-owned companies from countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Venezuela, and Russia. That means a good portion of every dollar you spend on gas goes straight into the pockets of leaders like Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or the Communist party bosses in Beijing. And with oil selling well above $100 a barrel now, they’re all making a killing.

You’d think our leaders in Washington would be doing everything they can to keep us from bankrolling these thugs, but then again, thuggery is nothing new to the oil industry, and quite often, Americans have played that role.

NEXT: Reason #70: Meddling in the Middle East