Gas prices were rising before this nut good try on the lie Jen
Revisiting The Blame For High Gas Prices
No article of mine has generated more views and more reader feedback than my piece in March of this year: Who Is To Blame For Rising Gasoline Prices? At present, there are nearly 900,000 views, and I continue to get reader feedback over this article on a weekly basis.
The feedback is invariably from men who are angry that Joe Biden is in the White House and it is along the lines of “I bet you feel stupid now” or “Even an idiot can see that Biden is the one who drove up gasoline prices.”
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After a couple of exchanges, they would say “OK, I agree with what you are saying.” I engaged half a dozen readers, and in every case they backed away from their initial angry reaction.
But it’s not a productive use of my time to convince readers one by one that they are operating under misconceptions. I ultimately decided to write this article to address some of the most common misconceptions.
The gist of the article is that there are few actions a president can take to impact gasoline prices in the short term. Those few actions historically have been 1). Release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; 2). Increase gasoline taxes; or 3). Engage in a war in the Middle East.
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First, immediately upon assuming office, President Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline permit. The project had been rejected by President Obama in late 2015, fast-tracked by President Trump in 2017, and now once more rejected by President Biden in 2021.
Then, Biden suspended new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for federal land and water.
Those actions, readers were quick to point out, were clearly were behind the rise in gasoline prices. I was willfully blind not to see that, I was told.
Look, I am not defending President Biden’s energy policies. I had already been critical of Biden’s energy decisions. In January I had written The Inherent Risks In President Biden’s Energy Plan, which criticized moves like the Keystone XL cancellation. So I fully understand how these decisions can impact oil and gasoline prices in the longer term — but not in mere months.
For those who insisted that Biden’s actions had quickly driven up gasoline prices, I asked them to explain. They would respond that these moves could eventually restrict oil supplies. True, but not for years. Keystone XL might have impacted oil supplies a decade from now. The oil markets don’t react in real time to events like this.
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So, What’s the Explanation?
Note when oil and gasoline prices began to rise. That rise started in May 2020. Between the first week of May 2020 and the last week of December 2020, oil prices had tripled. Was President Trump to blame for this?
No, the reason oil and gasoline prices rose is that the economy started to open back up from the Covid-19 shutdowns. Those shutdowns had negatively impacted a couple of million barrels of U.S. oil supplies, and those supplies were slow to bounce back once the economy opened back up. That’s why we have soaring oil and gasoline prices.
Keep in mind that the entire world has experienced this. Do people honestly believe that cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline drove up gasoline prices in Tokyo? Further, this price rise has taken place across most commodities. We have seen soaring lumber prices, base metals prices, cotton, oats, sugar — all primarily associated with the Covid-19 impacts on the economy.
Much more at link:
Because I get reader feedback on this topic on a weekly basis, I once again explain what is and is not behind the rise of gasoline prices.
www.forbes.com
www.foxbusiness.com
thefederalist.com
