The price of gas keeps rising.
“The reason for that is because of Putin’s war,” said President Joe Biden.
But that’s impossible. Most of the price rise came before Putin attacked Ukraine.
So some politicians simply blame “corporate greed.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse accuses the oil industry of collecting “excess profit.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren even introduced a bill to ban “price gouging.”
This is just economic ignorance, as my new video explains.
“If big oil could raise prices anytime they wanted and get away with it, then why were they so cheap in 2020, 2019, 2018?” asks the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ben Lieberman.
Lieberman points out that companies are always greedy. Greed didn’t just start now. They were just as greedy when gas prices fell in 2019 and early 2020.
“It all comes down to cutting back on supplies,” says Lieberman.
It’s not complicated. Prices change because of supply and demand.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people drove, and demand for gasoline dropped. So did its price. Oil drillers then did less drilling.
Now demand is up because people are driving again.
But it takes time for producers to adjust.
“It takes months, not days, for a company to increase production,” says Biden.
I’m relieved that the president understands that, but he ignores how his own policies reduce production and raise the price of gas. He didn’t mention that when he canceled a long-planned sale of offshore oil rights this week.
Activists want Biden to also kill a pipeline that would bring oil from Canada to Wisconsin. They’ve already delayed it five years. They delayed the Keystone Pipeline for 16 years, until Biden killed it altogether.This is so dumb. Stopping pipelines doesn’t even help the environment. Oil still gets shipped, but by truck, train and barge. That leads to (SET ITAL)more(END ITAL) oil spills.
At least one congressman is as foolish as the activists.
Last fall, at a congressional hearing titled “Exposing Big Oil’s Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action,” grandstanding California Rep. Ro Khanna scolded oil executives for producing too much oil.
“Are you embarrassed as an American company that your production is going up?” Khanna said to Chevron CEO Michael Wirth.
“Demand for energy is going up in the world,” Wirth responded, reasonably.
“Would you commit to reducing the production of oil?” Khanna asked ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods.
“We’re committed to lowering our emissions,” Woods answered.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no,'” sneered Khanna.
Hilariously, now that gas prices are up, Khanna goes on TV to complain that oil companies don’t produce (SET ITAL)more(END ITAL) oil.
“They’re still not increasing the production!” he whines.
I tried to interview Khanna about his hypocrisy, but he won’t talk to me.
“It’s amazing what $4 a gallon gasoline in an election year will do to cause some people to change their minds!” says Lieberman.
Still, the environmental activists aren’t totally crazy.
“We have to protect the Earth,” I say to Lieberman. “Sometimes the market isn’t the best director.”
“There is pollution, and there is a reason to address it,” Lieberman responds, “But we have to be realistic … these threats are repeatedly exaggerated.”
They sure are.
“(But in) the public debate, you’re losing. They’re winning,” I point out.
“At $4 a gallon gasoline, I think we’re seeing a rethinking of the climate agenda,” Lieberman replies.
Biden, at his State of the Union address, did say his top priority would be “getting prices under control.”
But he can’t get gas prices under control without more use of those hated fossil fuels.
“The Biden administration either has to choose between affordable energy or the climate agenda,” says Lieberman. “It can’t do both.”
John Stossel is creator of Stossel TV and author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.” For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com
Biden is a lying Mother Fucker
👍. Very true
The paradox is this, to get more so called “Green Energy” production, you’re going to have to use more fossil fuels. Without those fuels, many of which are used to create the materials Green Energy uses, the Green Energy movement is dead in the water. Without petroleum products, the plastics used to create solar panels and windmill blades are incapable of being made.
Currently, our Electrical Grid would collapse if solar and wind are the only power generators used. It’s an aged structure, that wasn’t designed with solar and win in mind. Both are too inconsistent and unreliable to support the grid. That’s just the simple fact that the Greenies ignore.
the blame for gas prices remains in the lap of Pres Biden. Prices did not start going up until he started his quest to make this country free from oil dependency. He stopped oil leases and killed the keystone pipeline and on and on he wanted this country on electric vehicles. Liberals keep trying to take the blame off of Biden and the Democrats.
cancelling new pipelines then makes the price go up to transport the crude because it has b put on trains,trucks an even ships an you also stand to have more spills if a truck gets wrecked or train derails there is a higher chance of that then a pipeline leaking an you have more pollution in the air running all of the trucks an trains it takes to haul the crude were with a pipeline you don’t have all of that pollution an by not drilling here in the usa like biden all rest of dimwit dems want only forces the oil companies to buy from countries that are hostile to us an at there cost an their amount of oil they can make a shortage by simply not selling to us prices shotup the very day biden killed the keystone pipeline an everything that he has done since that day an not putins war which is not helping
It’s not the oil companies that are keeping the prices high it is the government who need the tac money
Pres. Biden is and has always been an idiot.
So
AOL wouldn’t post another of mt comments. no foul language. No attacking any political adversary., Just staTING THE TRUTH AND IT CDID NOT FIT INTO YOUR BIASED SITE.
We Reap What We Sow ! Liberals Time Is Coming ! They DESTROY EVERYTHING THEY TOUCH !
Joe Biden, the king of always wrong!
If you haven’t figured out as of yet, Biden and all of the so called democrats, hate this country!
Since braindead joe’s inauguration, the Dems. have been aggressively and systematically destroying EVERYTHING AMERICAN. Make no mistake…thay don’t give a rat’s arse about you and your family. Actually they’re enjoying watching us struggle to stay afloat. It’s long overdue for
The Millennials to coral their out of control wackjob offspring and shape up by taking personal responsibilities of yourself and families. In Joe’s country, what’s left,… you kids will die long before their time. Stuff your social justice crap! Be American or get the F OUT!
The reason gas is so high is simple Pedo Joe undid all that President Trump did to make it inexpensive.
PUTIN IS NOT THE CAUSE FOR AMERICA INFLATION IT IS BECAUSE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION AND ALL THE INCOMPETENTENT PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OFFICE
Fuel prices is all Biden! After his inauguration, at 4:20 pm, he stopped the production of The Keystone Pipeline and curbed the drilling of fossil fuels, including fracking for natural gas and halted our energy independence and the exporting of energy fuels abroad. He also “OK’d” Russia to open it’s flood-gates to sending fuel to Germany, and more, which gave Putin means and affordability to invade Ukraine! Biden owns this entire mess!!! He has put America and it’s People LAST!!!!!! Welcome to “Build America Better”, it’s really, “Build America BANKRUPT” and usher in depending on “BIG GOV’T”! Socialism at it’s best. Better start planning all of your future meals and drill for your own damn fuel!!!!!
Reopen the pipelines & start drilling anew