(August 11) The Biden White House should be ashamed for begging the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, to boost oil production in order to make up for Biden’s own awful policy choices.
Even more embarrassing was that the plea for help came not from someone in the administration’s economic team but from national security adviser Jake Sullivan. U.S. security, not just the short-term price of gasoline, should hardly be dependent on the beneficence of OPEC nations such as Iran, Libya, Venezuela, Angola, and Saudi Arabia.
“Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery,” said Sullivan. “The price of crude oil has been higher than it was at the end of 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.” Calling for greater OPEC production, Sullivan added, “President Biden has made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump.”
For the Biden administration, this is what in today’s slang is called a major “self-own .” The main reason fuel prices are too high is because Biden’s policies have spurred inflation in the broader economy while specifically trimming domestic fuel production. Gasoline prices respond not just to current supply and demand but to expected future supplies as bulk purchasers bid for available crude. Biden has shut down the Keystone Pipeline, halted federal oil and gas lease sales, and suspended oil leasing in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, all despite existing laws approving those projects.
In general, his administration has also ramped up regulatory controls while speaking with great hostility about fossil fuels. All of this, every bit of it, has served to make bulk purchasers fear future shortages, thus bidding up prices in ways that hurt consumers at the pump…. [To read the rest of this column about this infuriating Biden policy, follow this link.]
