Chicago, I read your Forbes article link and noticed a heck of a lot of speculation about how people like these tax breaks for the oil companies without any polling data or other sourcing whatsoever. The explanation is that people are so confused they don't understand the tax breaks. This is not complicated stuff, this US News and World Report article explains it just fine.
"Why Big Oil Should Give Up Its Tax Breaks" "These tax breaks were mostly established decades ago to stimulate oil drilling and production on U.S. shores. The five firms that qualify for the breaks are now among the most well-established and profitable companies in the world. Two of them--BP and Royal Dutch Shell--aren't even American companies. Along with the other three--Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips--the five companies combined earned $116 billion in profits in 2011. If the tax breaks were eliminated and the whole tally came straight out of the bottom line, with no offsetting savings, the total decline in profits would be a paltry 1.8 percent."
