Where is the American People's Cut of Oil and Gas?

[Paladin]

15. You've Got Private And National Mineral Ownership Confused.

As I say up-thread, the U.S. is one of a very few nations which allow the private ownership of mineral resources. Most nations lay claim to all the oil, gas and other minerals within their boundaries, and their citizens receive only that income from those resources as their government sees fit to allocate (hint: it usually isn't much, if any at all). In the U.S., minerals from federal lands are by-and-large administered by the Bureau of Land Management; state land minerals are overseen by state agencies, and privately-owned minerals and their owners are entitled to income from those minerals, when they are developed. If you doubt me on this, I suggest you contact a private landowner in North Dakota, eastern Ohio, or south Texas---places where significant, high-dollar oil and gas shale plays are currently ongoing---and demand that they turn some of their royalty payments over to you and the rest of the public, because you feel you're entitled to it. Ask them if they want to swap places with Amazonian tribesmen in terms of the energy revenues they're receiving, these days. Lotsa luck with that.....