Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Why are gas prices so high? - Jack Hellner

 

by Jack Hellner

The media become more pathetic purveyors of misinformation every day as they campaign for Biden and his leftist policies.

Last Friday, my local paper, the State Journal Register, had the following headline and byline:

"Area gas prices hit $4 per gallon" by Royale Bonds, SJR, USA Today network

The first sentence says:

Uncertainty in the oil market because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as increased demand and inflation have caused prices to skyrocket.

Not once in the article did the writer mention how much Biden's policies have caused the energy prices to skyrocket.  We had high demand and a strong economy throughout Trump's first three years, before the virus, and we did not have high oil prices because we achieved energy independence.


YouTube screen grab.

On day one of Biden's presidency, he blocked a pipeline and sent a message that one of his main goals was to destroy the fossil fuel industry in America.  That sent a message to OPEC, Russia, and oil traders that the U.S. would not be a major competitor, and that sent prices soaring.  OPEC and Russia are pleased and much richer, more powerful, and more dangerous because of Biden's and other Democrats' policies, which most journalists support.  That is clearly why we rarely see supposed reporters blame Biden for the high prices.  They are complicit.

There are several causes to the current extremely damaging inflation cycle.  Increasing government regulations, dictatorial edicts that closed businesses, paying people too much while unemployed, massive new entitlement programs, and the Federal Reserve printing huge amounts of money all contribute.

But the skyrocketing cost of energy is the major culprit for inflation flowing through almost every product we buy or service we use.  Cost-push inflation or stagflation is extremely harmful, short-term and especially long-term.

The higher prices function like a major tax increase, especially to the poor, middle class, and small businesses who do not have excess cash flow to cover the increases.  The wealthy do just fine.

The last time gas prices hit $4 per gallon and crude hit over $130 per barrel, those energy prices contributed greatly to the economic collapse.  Goldman Sachs was predicting that oil would go to $200 per barrel.

When the economy was collapsing in 2008, Bush lifted the ban on drilling, and by the time Obama took office, the price was under $2 per gallon, and crude was under $40 per barrel.  Opening drilling contributed greatly to the recovery and the drop in inflation, not Obama's policies.  The lower energy prices functioned like a huge tax cut.

The Federal Reserve also started flooding the economy with money to stem the recession.  Fed fund rates dropped from 4.27% in 2008 to 0.0025% in 2009.

Congress also passed a major stimulus bill in February 2009 for around $800 billion.

Even as the Federal Reserve printed lots of money, and Congress added major stimulus to the economy, and the economy recovered from the recession, increasing demand, inflation dropped from 3.84% in 2008 to 0.0036% in 2009, significantly because Bush opened drilling.  Oil prices did not rise as they are rising today because of inflation.

Contrast Bush's actions to those of Biden.  Biden's solution is not drilling; it is releasing the equivalent of a few days of oil and begging Russia and OPEC countries to produce more.  Now they are even negotiating, through Russia, to buy oil from Iran, which spreads terrorism throughout the world, and who still pledges death to America.  How stupid can anyone get?

The media become more pathetic purveyors of misinformation every day as they campaign for Biden and his leftist policies.

They never blame Biden or Obama for anything, no matter what the facts are.

Biden, Obama, and NATO repeatedly appeased Putin and became dependent on Russia for oil.

Putin invaded Crimea during Obama's term, and they did nothing to stop Putin.

Putin did not invade Ukraine while Trump was in office, but this war, according to many in the media, is somehow Trump's fault.

Trump lectured NATO to spend more on defense and how stupid it was to depend on them for oil.

Trump put sanctions on the Russian pipeline to Germany.  Biden lifted those sanctions.

A honest headline would be "Biden's appeasement of Putin, and the world's relentless move towards becoming dependent on countries like Russia for oil, view is tested by war."

The media become more dangerous to America's survival every day as they campaign for leftists and their radical policies.

Heaven forbid that we think of "America First."

The media also like to pretend that Biden is a moderate to intentionally mislead the public.

The leftist policies, supported by most of the media, the U.N., the U.S., and Europe to destroy the fossil fuel industry, have Russia and other dangerous countries much richer and more powerful.

Reasonably priced energy is necessary for people to have freedom, and security.

Russia, Iran, and China are an existential threat to our world, not fossil fuels and a couple-degree temperature rise, which appears to be cyclical and natural after an over 500-year little ice age ended.

 

Jack Hellner

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/03/why_are_gas_prices_so_high.html

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