Biden owns gas price hike … and inflation
President Trump’s energy policies made the United States an energy independent nation. America actually joined the league of oil export nations. Domestic gasoline was affordable – if not cheap. And the pump prices were not exerting inflationary pressures. Inflation was in check.
Enter President Biden, stage left – with his plan to end all fossil fuel production and use ASAP.
Biden immediately shut down the Keystone Pipeline that would have enhanced America’s oil independency. He set in place polices to end fracking – the innovation that made America oil independent.
He reversed Trump by approving the Russian pipeline to Germany – a decision that helped support the Russian economy and kills off America’s ability to sell oil to Germany — if we were producing surpluses like before.
Biden has put the United States on the world market as a buyer at a time that the Middle East oil cartel will not increase production. That means higher prices for American consumers.
Both Biden’s domestic and international oil decisions have been disastrous for the Untied States. The sharp rise in fuel prices from the refinery impacts on virtually every other sector of the American economy. Gas and oil are cost factors in virtually all goods and services. Goods travel on a highway of fuel. Planes fly on fuel. Boats float on fuel. Commercial buildings heat and cool with fuel. Electricity is generated with fuel. Electric cars get recharged by fossil fuel. Your pizza is cooked and delivered by fuel.
This is a particular pernicious price increase because it is occurring when pump prices generally come down. A typical peak is reached in August. That means that the increase is NOT seasonal. Quite the contrary. The surge in gas prices is running counter to the general trend – and the forecast is for a continuing increase through the end of October and beyond.
Those leaps in the cost of gasoline that you see every other day can appropriately be considered a “Biden gas tax.” His policies have put us at the mercy of the international oil producers – and they are not known for their mercy.
What Biden has created is a two-punch hit on the cost of gas. One is the result of general inflationary policies – better know has big spending in Washington – and the other is his cutting back on American drilling and refining.
Biden’s trillion-dollar Infrastructure Bill is only half paid for – and that is if you believe the government accounting. There is no way that the Reconciliation Bill will be paid for. The claim that it is, is a big lie. And that means if there is a $3.5 trillion or a $1.5 trillion dollar bill, it will fuel more inflation.
In many ways, the cost of gas is the canary in the mine. It signals a broad range of economic problems that will hit the average consumers very had. Biden’s political problem is that the average American will feel the pain no matter how many times he puts his trademark positive spin on it.
So, there ‘tis.
Gas is going up because of supply and demand. Demand was suppressed during the early stages of Trump’s botched COVID response. Suppliers cut back. Now, the economy is rebounding, and demand has increased. Prices will go up until the supply catches up again. Then they will level out again. Period.
C’mon Larry, your bio says that Milton Friedman was a client of yours. Besides being a hero to every tin-pot dictator in the world, I’m pretty sure that even his version of free-market capitalism includes supply and demand. With your “extensive background in economics” I would think you’d be able to recognize it in the oil markets.
If the economy stays strong, prices will probably stay high. If the economy tanks, gas prices will follow. Personally, I’d rather see a strong economy even if it means higher gas prices. Are you saying you’d prefer a weak economy so you can get lower gas prices?
The Keystone Pipeline NEVER made any sense. They wanted to take tar out of the sand (or maybe sand out of the tar), mix it with lighter oil (from somewhere else), heat the crap up so it would flow through pipes, and send it over Native American territory (and through or under multiple lakes and rivers) all the way to the gulf of Mexico where it would be refined and shipped off to China. It would NEVER have affected the price of gasoline in the US. It ran a pretty high risk of contaminating water systems in a part of the country that is perpetually short of water (and the cost of cleanups is usually paid for by the US government, not the pipeline owners). It took Native American territory, and nationalized it just for the profit of one company. It made promises for jobs that would disappear as soon as the pipeline was finished. In terms of energy, the oil was low quality and the energy required to heat it for its 2000 mile trip made it extremely inefficient in energy terms.
Being a Trump supporter, it’s a little late to talk about propping up the Russian government – Trump spent his whole term kissing Putin’s ass. Germany is an ally, and needs the energy. Biden has to work with them too. And the Russian pipeline is not carrying oil, it’s natural gas,a cleaner alternative.
Fracking has its own problems… it takes LOTS of water. It also has a habit of causing earthquakes in places that were never seismically active. It generally results in methane and other greenhouse gas emissions, and also pollutes ground and drinking water. It has probably increased supplies of natural gas in areas where it’s viable, but at the cost of environmental damage that is paid for by taxpayers, not the gas industry.
We have uncountable amounts of solar power hitting the earth at any one time. Wind energy is prevalent in the western states, and is compatible with land use and grazing cattle, and is a potential boon to farmers.Neither requires large amounts of water. Both are underused, an almost untapped wealth of power. They’re creating good jobs, while oil is a shrinking, dying industry. As oil gets ever-more scarce, prices will continue to rise. President Biden is right to choose to invest our tax money in the clean energy supplies of the future, not the dirty energy supplies of the past. Taxpayers are paying for all of the problems caused by burning fossil fuels, while the energy companies get the profits.
The price of energy from solar and wind is already below the price of energy from coal. Wind and solar will also eventually overtake gas. President Biden is building up US infrastructure – why shouldn’t he be preparing for what’s coming and not what’s going away?
That’s the problem. The economy isn’t staying strong. Supply and demand? I suppose that you think that stopping the pipeline doesn’t affect gas prices. Morons like you are too damned funny So go ahead and dig into your Marxist text book and start spinning
The pipeline never started, so it’s not affecting gas prices anywhere. And that oil was destined for China anyway, not here. If they wanted to refine it for domestic use, they would do it there. There’s a shit-ton of it in that region, and it would be cheaper to refine it locally and ship the finished product… but it’s low quality, and it takes almost as much energy to refine it as you get out of it. It’s only worth it to the Chinese, who need lots of energy and have lots of dollars to spend.
Who says the economy isn’t staying strong? Are you getting your info from the fear mongerers at FOX News, or what? GDP growth is on target to be 5.7% for the year. GDP growth for 2016 – 2019 was in the 2-3% range, and -3.5% in 2020. Trump inherited a 4.7% unemployment rate that was steadily decreasing, but it spiked to 15% and he left office with it at almost 7%. It’s now back to almost exactly where it was when Trump took office.
If there are any “damned funny morons” here, they would be you. Do a little research next time… As they say, “better to keep quiet and look stupid, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
So keep quiet dumbass You have posted lies
Well… unless you can point to specific statements and prove otherwise (or at least come up with an alternate opinion)… you look more like a dumbass than me… How much research did you do to write your post. ZERO. Couldn’t bother to look up a single statement, could you?
Remember SNL in the 70’s with Akroid and Curtain’s “Jane, you ignorant slut.” I’m having a flashback!
Wasn’t America’s energy independence created during Obama?
Wasn’t inflation in check decades before Trump?
Isn’t the keystone pipeline intended to carry Canadian oil? To help America gain oil independence? Hmmm.
Haven’t we been a net exporter for years now?
How does a Russian gas line to Germany preclude our oil sales? Anywhere? Hmmm.
America reached energy independency under Trump. What put us over the top was favorable policies on piping, drilling and fracking. We have fallen below independency quickly because Biden reversed a lot of those policies.
Yes … inflation was in check before Trump … and his policies maintained that trajectory. One could argue that his final stimulus package was inflationary. I raised that warning in the past. But Biden has put inflation in high gear with his $1.9 trillion dollar package and his increasing the cost of oil —- and thereby everything else. There are other factors — such as his hindering employment with the mandatory vaccine/masking policies. Biden is Mr. Inflation. No getting around it.
The Keystone pipeline was to bring oil drilled by American companies … most notably Conoco/Phillips. I do not know what portion might be Canadian oil, if any.
We have exported oil even as we purchased from the international market in the past. So no, were were not a NET exporter for years. Whether you will give Trump policies credit, it certainly happened on his watch.
Is that a serious question? If Germany is buying from Russia, they do not need to buy from us. Duh. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to sell from an independent position.
Yup, about 90% energy independent in 2016 and trending upwards.
Wasn’t that Obama?
In the 8 years of his presidency, our ration of domestic and foreign oil did not change much. It was not trending up.
Hmm; doesn’t the Eia say different?
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php
Larry, ConocoPhillips was bought out by TCwhatever of Canada in 2009. Don’t know what the Midwest and tax refinery action is. But I think the pipeline is filled with Can. Oil from the tar sands area.
The point I was make in the eia charts was the trend away from foreign to us started about 2905 or so. Like the report says 2020 was a major benchmark, but just the next step in a long trend. And face it; the demand in 2020 was impacted by covid which probably affected foreign first.
I have to check on Trump’s corrosion of our public lands for oil but something tells me it’s smaller than one thinks. Only because we would be in a real problem given Biden must be trying to walk that crap back.
Lastly, and it really doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on, both sides tend to spin where the oil comes from sometimes using domestic other times using “North America“ which is code for we’re adding Canada‘s production in. Mexico too. Like I said, both sides of the aisle tend to use that spin when it comes to energy independence.
Yup , I looked in the general consensus is that Trump freed up lotta resources we are oil could be mind but with the low prices, these resources were a bit expensive to take it vantage of.
Granted, the story is from politico, but I think if you look it up you’ll find that many of the passages were lifted from other media outlets, Forbes for example, s said in 2018 much of what’s in the politico article and called the Trump policy pretty meh.
https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/10/27/trump-oil-gas-industry-432722