Did you hear about the birthday party for Big Oil that was held March 14 in Washington, D.C.? The American Coalition of Ethanol and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association used the cake as an out-of-the-box way to draw attention to the fact that 2013 is the 100th year of federal tax subsidies for the petroleum industry.

This wasn’t just any cake. This was a cake sculpture. This was cake art. This cake came from Charm City Cakes, made famous by the reality show Ace of Cakes. I don’t know if Duff Goldman, the tattooed, sometimes power tool wielding star of the show and pastry chef shop owner, actually worked on this cake, but I like to imagine he did. (Perhaps you have guessed I’ve seen a few episodes of this 10 season show, which aired from 2006 through February 2011.)

As you can see from the photo, the cake features an oil derrick perched on the top of the U.S. Capitol dome. Those are $100 bills dropping down from the top to “symbolize one hundred years of continuous, industry-specific tax subsidies for Big Oil,” the groups said in a press release.

“Today’s ‘Century of Subsidies’ birthday party was not about saying every tax subsidy the oil companies get is bad,” said Rick Schwarck, President of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and CEO of Absolute Energy, a 115 MMgy ethanol plant located near St. Ansgar, Iowa.  “Today’s ‘Century of Subsidies’ birthday party was a reminder to policy makers that Big Oil has benefited from taxpayer support for 100 years—and not just with tax subsidies, but mandates and loan guarantees and other policies.”

Here’s a list of current oil-specific tax subsidies, as provided by ACE and IRFA: 

•           Expensing of Intangible Drilling Costs

•           Percentage Depletion Allowance

•           Deduction for Tertiary Injectants

•           Geological and Geophysical Expenditures

•           Exception for passive loss limitations for oil and gas

•           Enhanced oil recovery credit

•           Marginal oil well credit

The birthday party happened during ACE’s annual fly in. For two days, more than 50 members held more than 120 meetings with members of Congress or their staff, to talk about tax breaks and subsidies for oil, the renewable fuels standard, E15 and more.

And then they ate some cake. It was a tongue-in-frosting way to humorously highlight a serious issue. That’s the uneven playing field between ethanol, which the critics love to hate, and the petroleum industry, which somehow gets a pass. “If oil companies cannot stand on their own two feet after 100 years of clinging to certain taxpayer subsidies, Congress shouldn’t hurt American consumers by repealing the RFS, a policy that helps level the playing field with oil a little bit by giving people affordable and renewable fuel choices,” said Brian Jennings, ACE executive vice president, adding that the RFS costs Americans nothing and has delivered many benefits. 

I only have one other question. I wonder if there’s any left? I’d like to taste a $100 bill—even if it is just made out of fondant.