News/Commentary

Biden demands oil and gas companies lower prices ahead of midterms, as reserves dwindle: ‘Do it now!’

September 27, 2022 | | Print Article

It’s no mystery that the pain at the pump felt in all sectors of the economy has been a result of intentional policy-making by President Joe Biden to accelerate a forced transition from reliable energy to the Green agenda.

Never one to let facts get in the way of the narrative, during the third meeting of the White House Competition Council the president pushed the blame for lingering high fuel costs on “greedy” oil and gas companies yet again, seemingly adding “competition” to the list of words his administration has attempted to redefine.

“We haven’t seen the lower prices reflected at the pump though,” Biden remarked as he touted the “historic progress” of average prices dropping by more than a dollar after they had skyrocketed to a record high of $5 per gallon under his watch.

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1574570504173719552

“Meanwhile, oil and gas companies are still making record profits, billions of dollars in profits,” he claimed without context as to the breakdown in the price at the pump before targeting the lowest rung on the ladder.

“My message is simple, to the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump, bring down the prices you’re charging at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product,” he demanded. “Do it now! Do it now!”

Ownership of gas stations falls on a spectrum from independent operators to refinery-owned establishments and, as Fox Business pointed out, the price of crude oil has dipped from around $122 a barrel in June when the nationwide average price of gas remained at $5 to about $76 Monday when the average price of gas was just above $3.70.

Factoring in the actual profit the gas station earns per gallon sold, ranging from $0.03 to $0.07 according to The Hustle, compared to around$0.70 in taxes collected at the federal and state level, it would seem, under Biden’s direction, his aim is not to foster competition, but to move it out of the way of government.

In June, he had outright threatened the industry that he might seize the means of production to knock down the high energy costs in a letter to oil executives that read in part: “Your companies and others have an opportunity to take immediate actions to increase the supply of gasoline, diesel and other refined product you are producing. My administration is prepared to use all reasonable and appropriate Federal Government tools and emergency authorities to increase refinery capacity and output in the near term, and to ensure that every region of this country is appropriately supplied.”

However, as American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers replied, the blame was far from theirs to carry.

“While members of your administration have recently discussed the need for additional supplies to solve the energy crisis, your administration has restricted oil and natural gas development, canceled energy infrastructure projects, imposed regulatory uncertainty, and proposed new tax increases on American oil and gas producers competing globally,” he wrote in a letter to Biden in June. “Respectfully, the American people need a different direction to solve this crisis.”

Accountability is not something the administration is interested in as demonstrated at the end of the president’s remarks when the press was ushered out the door by handlers as Biden ignored questions.

Corporate media also covered for the president as he plowed through a minute of incoherence only to have his remarks broken into on CBS before he got any worse.

Despite the carefully curated coverage, the American people haven’t been duped by the messaging and are well aware of who is to blame for the financial woes they have been burdened with.

Kevin Haggerty
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