Average gas prices have reached $5 a gallon for the first time ever. National Review. The news comes just two months since gas prices reached $4 a gallon for the first time since 2008. No state has average gas prices below $4.40 and California tops the list with average prices there being $6.40 a gallon. Prices are high due to high demand, a decrease in capacity and oil sanctions against Russia. Prices could increase again over the summer if a hurricane affects oil refineries. The shock in prices has not reduced demand at all.
My Comment:
Joe Biden deserves most, though not all, of the blame for this. Obviously, demand isn't his fault and the lingering problems with refineries due to the Coronavirus pandemic aren't really his fault either. And if there is a hurricane that happens this summer he won't be at fault for that either.
But the rest of it? It's all on Biden. No factor is worse for this than the war in Ukraine, which Joe Biden provoked. He knew that Ukraine joining NATO would be a casus belli for Putin, but he told the Russians indirectly that Ukraine was going to join. And once the war happened, it was his choice to sanction Russia, which has cause untold problems. It is probably the first time in history where the sanctioned country is better off afterwards than it was before.
Why? Because it caused oil prices to skyrocket. Russia has made so much money of these higher oil prices it has single handedly reversed the other sanctions. They haven't had much in the way of problem selling their oil as many countries have lined up to buy more.
But that isn't the only problem Joe Biden caused. Donald Trump enjoyed a good relationship with Saudi Arabia and the other gulf states. Biden has thrown that away to the degree that he can't even get a phone call with the leadership of Saudi Arabia. He was supposed to go there soon, but that won't happen. His support of Iran backfired terribly as the Gulf States want nothing to do with us. And it was all for nothing as his effort to get oil from Iran and other terrible states like Venezuela have failed.
Biden also pretty much destroyed our domestic oil industry. His first act was to cancel the Keystone pipeline and though that wouldn't have been finished by this point it's a good example of the utter hostility Biden has to the industry. He isn't allowing new drilling and changed America from a net energy exporter to being dependent on foreign energy yet again.
Higher gas prices are utterly devastating economically. They are a huge tax on every product that gets transported and it is a major reason why inflation is spiraling out of control. Companies have to make up the losses they gain from higher gas prices and they do that by raising prices. It's why I spent $100 to get groceries now when it used to cost me between $60 and $80, even though I am mostly buying the same stuff.
Biden does not have much he is willing to do to reduce gas prices. He won't reverse Russian sanctions, fix domestic production or get help from other countries. Doing any of those things would help immensely but he won't do it. And his supposed silver bullet was releasing money from the emergency reserves. Those reserves will be depleted soon and did very little to reduce gas prices.
This is a situation that is going to get way worse before it gets better. Demand will probably stay steady but supplies are worse. News outlets have already said that we will be at $6 a gallon and that's probably optimistic. There does not seem to be any solution that Biden is willing to take and the problem won't go away on its own until production is increased or Russian sanctions end. Gas prices will probably decrease in the fall due to less demand but not anywhere near enough. Under current circumstances I can't see gas getting under $4 a gallon unless something dramatic changes, even in fall and winter.
All of this news is absolutely devastating for the Democrats, who are going to get blamed for the high oil prices. The ruling party gets blamed for high prices regardless, but in this case they can't seriously argue that it isn't their fault. That is why they have gone all out in their attempts to distract the nation with their abortion nonsense, the gun control push and this weeks January 6th show trials. None of it will work. People will understand that their pocketbooks are empty because of Joe Biden and his party and they will punish him for it this November.
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