On January 20, 2021 (the date of Joe Biden's inauguration as President), the national average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.38; prices peaked in June 2022 at $4.92; the average price today (December 31, 2022) is $3.21 per gallon.
Author's note: Gasoline prices in Utah are generally higher than the national average. I'm told it has something to do with how far they have to transport fuel from the refineries to Utah cities. Hint: the refineries are in North Salt Lake City, UT. Go figure.
As the prices climbed in early 2022, I began seeing stickers on the pumps with a caricature of President Biden pointing to the price saying " I did that." A retailer I know pretty well complained the stickers would re-appear as fast as he cleaned them off. Which set me to wondering. . .
Are people finally giving up Facebook and Instagram long enough to drive around and post false information on gas pumps? Are they part of the "Deep State" government we have been repeatedly warned about? Or could it be Antifa, trying to destabilize the government? Perhaps it is college students, upset about not having to pay student loans during the pandemic? Nah, it's probably those west coast elite socialist liberals upset that Bernie isn't President of the United States.
Or maybe just maybe Saudi Aramco based in Texas; Marathon Petroleum in Texas, Louisiana, and California; Exxon Mobile in Texas and Louisiana; BP Products North America in Indiana; PDV America (Citgo) in Louisiana, and Chevron in Mississippi all decided to make record profits and gouge American consumers pent up from being in lockdown? Being really smart businessmen, and knowing how gullible the American public in general can be, they hired a bunch of grass smoking hippies to drive around in Volkswagon vans to put stickers on the gas pumps and deflect criticism from the Big Oil profits to President Joe Biden.
Of course, if it's not Big Oil, then those responsible good citizens who put stickers on the pumps blaming President Biden when the prices went up should now be putting stickers on the pumps thanking President Biden for the prices falling back down.
Ain't gonna happen!
Happy New Year, everybody!
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R.M. "Bob" Hartman
On January 21, President Biden issued a lengthy executive order to block the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. Essentially saying, “we won’t compete with you Saudi overlords. Have your way with us.” Oil from a friendlier country like Canada instead of OPEC would increase the supply from alternate sources instead of the monopoly they currently have. But now knowing they control the supply, they can increase prices as much as they want, what do you think greed would dictate? I think it can be directly attributed to his actions. While it wasn’t operational, we cancelled our insurance policy. The war in Russia was just another kick in the pants.
ReplyDeleteBut why have prices come down?
On a very related note, the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is at an all time low. They’ve been using it “strategically” to bring prices down. But wait until the SPR runs out. Then Americans will be in a world of hurt as prices shoot to $8+.
This is incompetence and greed to the detriment of the whole.