A rather unreassuring assessment that Biden has gotten himself so far into the inflation and energy crisis he caused that small, menial efforts around the edges may actually be counterproductive to the eventual goal of lowering prices at the pump.
Biden is reportedly pushing Congress to support a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax. That would amount to 18 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, a paltry sum that might save a few bucks overall on a fillup.
The problem, says Bloomberg, is that it’s a drop in the bucket that many consumers won’t even notice and it may end up causing prices to go higher:
Suspending the federal gasoline tax may sound like welcome relief for US drivers paying some of the highest pump prices on record right as the summer travel season kicks into high gear. But experts warn it could bring mixed results — or even higher gas prices in the end.
But waiving the tax could bring some surprising consequences. In fact, when some states have opted to suspend their own fuel taxes in the past, sometimes prices come back higher than what they would have been had the tax-holiday never occurred, according to a study released last week from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In other words, more government manipulation of the energy market will lead to further instability of the energy market. The problem, from the beginning, has been government intervention trying to kill the oil and gas industry, a goal which Joe Biden has stated at different times to different degrees.
Democrats have accepted the position that pushing the country — forcing the country — to accept a “green energy” future will mean pain for consumers buying any kind of petroleum-derived product, and they’re OK with that reality. As Biden said recently, this gas price pain is part of the “incredible transition” to green energy and everyone buying an electric vehicle. Good luck with that, champ.
There’s no wasy way out for Biden being in so deep. He caused this disaster and put America in a weaker position in terms of domestic energy, now we’re all paying the price.
If suspending the federal gas tax might end up creating demand that might drive up prices, there isn’t much Biden can do other than reverse his policies, embrace a “drill, baby, drill” attitude and unleash American energy like Trump did. That will never happen, of course.
The next boogeyman after Vladimir Putin? The oil companies! They’re making too much money and they’re not producing enough oil according to Biden.
Again, the problem here is that Biden wants to kill the industry, cancel leases, cancel pipelines, and not actually allow for increased production.
Gas prices are high because the Democratic Party, led by Joe Biden, wants them to be high enough that Americans second-guess owning a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, it’s that simple.
