Tag Archives: Biden administration energy policies

Killing The Alaskan Economy

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On Thursday, The Daily Wire posted an article about some new Biden administration policies that will destroy the economy of Alaska.

The article reports:

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would be canceling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and move to ban drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. 

The announcement from the Department of the Interior means that seven leases for drilling given during the Trump administration will be rescinded and that 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve will be off limits for drilling if the proposed rule is approved. The leases were held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and encompassed 365,775 acres. 

“Alaska is home to many of America’s most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. 

The announcement was opposed by top Alaskan officials, including Governor Mike Dunleavy and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. 

“Today the Biden Administration announced that it is cancelling legally-issued oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge section designated for oil and gas development. The leases AIDEA holds in ANWR were properly acquired in a sale mandated by Congress,” Dunleavy posted on X. “It’s clear that President Biden needs a refresher on the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. Federal agencies don’t get to rewrite laws, and that is exactly what the Department of the Interior is trying to do here.”

The article concludes:

Despite the fact that Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline expansion and aggressively pushed green energy, climate activists are still angry at Biden after he allowed the Willow oil project in Alaska’s North Slope to go forward, which could end up yielding 180,000 gallons of oil per day. The decision to end the leases and block drilling comes as gas prices across the country remain high. 

Hopefully the government of Alaska will bring a lawsuit that will go to the Supreme Court. This is government overreach.

How You Vote Impacts YOU!

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On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported the following:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading Tuesday afternoon, a price unseen in the market since November.

The countries’ moves could increase inflation and the cost for motorists at gasoline pumps. It also puts new pressure on Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States, as President Joe Biden last year warned the kingdom there would be unspecified “consequences” for partnering with Russia on cuts as Moscow wages war on Ukraine.

Because of the Biden administration’s energy policies, we are not in a position to make any threats to any oil-producing country! Like it or not, fossil fuel is one of the major foundations of our economy. Fossil fuel powers the trucks that move products, the factories that produce products (those factories the Biden administration tax policies have not driven out of the country), and provides Americans with comfort and mobility. Under President Trump we were energy independent and inflation was under control. Until we go back to the policies that worked for the American people, our standard of living will continue to decline and inflation will continue to rise.

The article concludes:

In recent months, tensions eased slightly as Biden’s administration sought a deal with Riyadh for it to diplomatically recognize Israel.

But those talks include Saudi Arabia pushing for a nuclear cooperation deal that includes America allowing it to enrich uranium in the kingdom — something that worries nonproliferation experts, as spinning centrifuges open the door to a possible weapons program.

Prince Mohammed already has said the kingdom would pursue an atomic bomb if Iran had one, potentially creating a nuclear arms race in the region as Tehran’s program continues to advance closer to weapons-grade levels. Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a détente in recent months, though the region remains tense amid the wider tensions between Iran and the U.S.

Higher oil prices would also help Russian President Vladimir Putin fund his war on Ukraine. Western countries have used a price cap to try to cut into Moscow’s revenues. But those sanctions have seen Moscow be forced to sell its oil at a discount to countries like China and India.

All The Speeches In The World Won’t Make Up For Bad Policies

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On Monday, The Conservative Review posted an article about manufacturing in America.

The article reports:

U.S. manufacturing reached its lowest point since the start of the pandemic, according to a report released just as President Joe Biden embarked on a tour of U.S. factories to tout his promise to boost the industry.

On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index reached its lowest point, 46.3, since May 2020, Reuters reported. Excluding the pandemic recession, the index, known as PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index), was at its lowest point since 2009.

PMI is a tool for identifying economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors based on business conditions at hundreds of major companies. A PMI below 50 indicates decline.

The article concludes:

The Biden administration has made its taxpayer-funded push to build a “clean energy economy” a central part of its plan to boost U.S. manufacturing. But critics have questioned the billions of dollars invested in green energy companies, which have enriched left-wing billionaire megadonors to the Democratic Party along with Chinese manufacturers that source materials for the firms.

The two things that the Trump administration did to bring manufacturing back to America were to lower the tax rate on corporations and to supply dependable and relatively inexpensive energy. President Biden has undone both of those policies. It should also be noted that the minerals needed to create green energy at imported–the Biden administration has blocked the mining of these minerals in America. Even if America were able to switch over to green energy, green energy is not as reliable as fossil fuel and right now it is considerably more expensive. Spain and Germany both attempted to convert to green energy and had to return to fossil fuel to avoid bankrupting their countries. If we continue down the road the Biden administration is taking us down, President Biden will eventually bankrupt America.

This Is Not Good News For The American Economy

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Remember when America was energy independent and gas was less than $2 at the pump? Those days are long gone, and if the Biden administration and OPEC have anything to say about it, we will never see them again.

On Monday, CNSNews reported the following:

Saudi Arabia and half a dozen other members of OPEC+ announced on Sunday that they plan to cut up to a combined 1.15 million barrels of oil a day from May until the end of 2023, calling the decision a “precautionary measure” aimed at ensuring market stability.

The unexpected move comes six months after a decision to cut production by two million barrels a day, also through the end of 2023, sparked a serious diplomatic spat between the Biden administration and the kingdom.

…“We don’t think cuts are advisable at this moment given market uncertainty – and we’ve made that clear,” Reuters quoted a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson as saying in response to Sunday’s announcements.

The announcements by the various oil producers made clear that the new cuts were additional to those announced last October, when OPEC+ agreed on a reduction by two million barrels a day until the end of 2023.

That decision, shortly before the U.S. midterm elections, came despite Washington’s appeals for OPEC+ to increase supply. The administration responded bitterly, portraying the move as one that would hurt U.S. interests and benefit Russia’s war in Ukraine.

President Biden warned of “consequences” and White House and State Department officials said the administration would consult with Congress after the midterms and look to “recalibrate” the 70-plus year relationship with Saudi Arabia.

President Biden needs to realize that no one is listening to him. He has undermined the power of America on the world stage to the point where no one cares what he says. The only real way to avoid the economic crisis that this production cut will create is to resume ALL American drilling immediately. Those involved in the extreme environmental movement need to realize that if they crash the American economy, their movement will lose a lot of support and economic clout. America needs to be energy independent for national security purposes and for geopolitical purposes. If we do not turn the Biden administration’s energy policies around quickly, we are in danger of failing as a nation.

The True Cost Of Converting To Green Energy

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On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the Biden administration’s plan to phase out the use of natural gas in federal buildings in favor of clean energy. This is being described as a “cost-effective” move that will save taxpayers millions each year. That is an outright lie.

The article reports:

In that statement, President Joe Biden’s Energy Department says the proposed natural gas phaseout “would save taxpayers $8 million annually in upfront equipment costs,” a figure that stems from the department’s Dec. 6 estimate of the plan’s budgetary impact. That estimate, however, also acknowledges that so-called clean electricity is roughly four-and-a-half times more expensive than natural gas, leading to “increases in energy costs across the board” that outweigh the savings on equipment expected under the plan. As a result, Biden’s transition away from natural gas will actually cost taxpayers up to $5 million annually, the Energy Department estimate says, a statistic that does not appear in the department’s statement.

Despite the increased costs associated with the plan, green energy groups—which Biden aggressively courted during his campaign in an attempt to win over liberal voters—quickly applauded the move. The Sierra Club, for example, said it was “excited that the Biden administration is making good on its promise” to advance green energy and pledged to “continue to work with the Biden administration.” But as Biden looks to expand his natural gas phaseout beyond the federal government and toward the general public—the Democrat has called for a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a decarbonized economy by 2050—he could alienate everyday Americans concerned about energy costs. Earlier this year, electricity prices in California surged to more than double the national average as the Democrat-dominated state worked to “swap gasoline-fueled cars and natural gas heaters for electric models,” E&E News reported in April.

The article concludes:

The Biden administration is set to host a Jan. 5 “webinar” on its proposed federal building natural gas phaseout and will also field public comments on the plan through early February. The American Gas Association has already said it will “vigorously participate” in that public comment process, saying the cost of Biden’s plan “will be borne by every taxpayer.”

“Eliminating natural gas in federal buildings is an impractical, unscientific, and expensive idea that will have no environmental benefit,” the association said in a statement. “AGA will thoroughly evaluate the proposal and vigorously participate in the public comment process.”

At some point, we are going to have to admit that with the current technology, green energy is a boondoggle. Until the technology improves, the cost comes down, and the negative impact of windmills and solar panels are dealt with, green energy doesn’t work.

Misdirected Complaints

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Americans have endured record inflation in recent months, partially caused by skyrocketing energy costs. The Biden administration has been quick to take credit when gasoline prices have decreased slightly, but has consistently avoided taking responsibility for the role they have played in the increases in both gasoline and diesel prices. On Monday, Hot Air posted an article about the diesel fuel shortage.

The article reports:

During recent public appearances, President Joe Biden has continued to complain about energy prices as well as the potentially catastrophic shortage of diesel that has been forecast to hit the United States soon, particularly in the northeast. Of course, he never takes the blame for any of this himself. He instead tries to blame the “greedy” energy companies or, of course, Vladimir Putin. He has called for bans on oil and gas exports and even suggested a mandate that diesel stocks be maintained at a higher level. But a new report from the Institute for Energy Research addresses the actual root of these problems. What we’re facing is a significant loss in refinery capacity in the United States and its various territories. We’ve lost more than a million barrels per day in production capacity, but rather than working to rebuild that capacity, the White House is issuing new edicts that will result in diminishing it further.

…Banning petroleum exports (which are already at severely low levels) would only cut off markets, making the American oil and gas industry even less profitable, thereby disincentivizing any efforts to expand capacity. And as for an executive order directing a specific amount of diesel to be kept in stock, well… that’s simply insane. You can’t order more diesel to magically appear with a few scribbles of a pen. Someone has to produce the required oil, move it to a refinery, and create the diesel.

The article concludes:

Energy prices – including diesel – continue to rise and stockpiles continue to fall. We’re talking about a situation where people could literally wind up freezing to death over the course of the winter. There are steps the federal government could be taking to stave off such an outcome and improve the situation. But thus far, the Biden administration is doing the exact opposite. Some of you may want to start stockpiling blankets at this point. You might wind up needing them.

Bad policies have consequences. We are desperately in need of competent people in Washington.

Putting American Interests Last

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Venezuela is an obvious example of a prosperous country rapidly declining. As I noted in a recent article, the country went from freedom to tyranny in a very short time. The chances of Venezuela returning to its former status as a free, prosperous nation are very slim. However, evidently the Biden administration has hope.

On Monday, Townhall posted an article about President Biden’s decision to allow Chevron to resume pumping oil in Venezuela. This decision is in obvious contrast to the President’s limiting oil production in America.

The article reports:

The Treasury Department announced Saturday that it was giving Chevron the green light to pump in the socialist country for the first time in years in a joint venture with the country’s national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela.

The article includes the following quote from former White House Economic Adviser Stephen Moore:

Commenting on the news, Moore said he nearly fell out of his chair reading the headlines.

“This is the same administration that won’t allow us to do drilling here in the United States, not in Texas, not in Oklahoma, not in Alaska, not in West Virginia. But we can pump oil from Venezuela,” he told Fox News of the “America last” policy. “It makes absolutely no sense…When Trump left office and I helped Trump on energy policy, our whole policy was to make America totally energy independent so we wouldn’t have to rely on countries like Venezuela and Iran and Russia. And so somebody explain this one to me because it makes no sense.”

The article concludes:

A White House official claimed the move has nothing to do with current oil prices, but instead is “about the regime taking the steps needed to support the restoration of democracy in Venezuela,” an administration official told The Wall Street Journal. 

Wow. If you believe that, I would like to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn. You can have all the tolls you collect.

The American Economy Under The Biden Administration

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On Wednesday, The Washington Free Beacon reported the following:

U.S. business activity contracted for a fifth straight month in November, with a measure of new orders dropping to its lowest level in 2-1/2 years as higher interest rates slowed demand.

S&P Global said on Wednesday its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 46.3 this month from a final reading of 48.2 in October. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the private sector. Activity is slumping under the weight of the Federal Reserve’s most aggressive interest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s aimed at curbing inflation by dampening economic demand.

The flash composite new orders index dropped to 46.4, the lowest level since May 2020, from a final reading of 49.2 in October. Outside the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the worst reading since 2009.

The article concludes:

Average input prices increased at the softest rate in two years, but factories still faced challenges finding skilled labor. This suggests the slowdown in inflation will be gradual as wages remain sticky.

The survey’s flash services sector PMI decreased to 46.1 from 47.8 in October. Services businesses also reported weak demand and a moderation in input prices.

I am not an economist, and I do not totally understand what these numbers mean. Generally speaking, inflation is a problem and the rising interest rates that are supposed to combat it are a problem. It is my understanding that the solution to the inflation problem could be found in bringing back domestic energy production and limiting government spending. The new House of Representatives that will be sworn in in January does have the power to cut government spending; however, it is doubtful that they have the power to overrule the Biden administration’s restrictions on domestic energy production. All of us need to be concerned for the people in the colder regions of America this winter. Heating costs will be very high, and many people are going to suffer because of brownouts and energy costs. All of this is the result of the Biden administration’s energy policies. The war in Ukraine is a contributing factor, but not the main cause. Energy prices began to rise in January 2021 and have continued to rise since (with a few pauses). Energy is an international commodity and is subject to supply and demand. The way to bring energy costs down in America is to get back to producing our own energy. That is also the way to curb inflation.

A Very Confusing Policy

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On Monday, Townhall posted an article about President Biden’s recent statements on his administration’s energy policies. The statements are very confusing.

The article reports:

The latest off-the-cuff statement putting pressure on the White House to explain what Biden meant came as the president campaigned in New York for endangered Democrat incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul Sunday night.

Speaking to what must have been some kind of climate protester in the crowd, Biden says “No more drilling. There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling,” the president reiterated.

…As Katie (Katie Pavlich)  pointed out on Twitter, Biden’s words contradicted what White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said on Saturday when she tried to brag that the Biden administration has “increased” the production of oil and natural gas

…The “no more drilling” stance is not new for Biden, who trotted that out as a primary campaign refrain in 2020. While attempting to win his party’s nomination, Biden said he would ensure there was “no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill — period.” When asked to clarify by moderator Dana Bash if there would be any room for “coal or fracking” in a Biden administration, he said “no” and pledged he would “make sure it’s eliminated.”

But his 2020 rhetoric and this Sunday’s apparent admission that he’s banned oil drilling contradicts Biden’s previous attempts to label complaints from oil and gas companies being strangled by Democrats’ energy independence-killing policies as “simply not true.”

The article also notes:

Senator Manchin called Biden’s comments “outrageous and divorced from reality” for ignoring the “severe economic pain” being felt by Americans due to rising energy costs. The West Virginia Democrat said comments like those from Biden “are the reason the American people are losing trust in President Biden.”

That caused the White House, through Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, to rush out a statement on Saturday claiming Biden’s words had “been twisted to suggest a meaning that was not intended,” despite Biden’s words being perfectly clear (for once), as Katie reported here. 

I don’t know if a Republican Congress can reverse the damage President Biden has done to the American energy industry. I am hoping they will try.

Actions Have Consequences

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On Friday, President Biden talked about a recent speech he made in Massachusetts. The Conservative Treehouse posted the story.

The article reports:

During a speech today, Joe Biden bragged about the example of his visit to a Massachusetts coal-fired plant that was forced to close due to regulation.  However, what Biden didn’t mention was the energy provider telling customers to expect a 64% increase in electricity rates effective November 1st.

BIDEN: …”I was just — and so we can accommodate that transition.  I was in Massachusetts about a month ago on the site of the largest old coal plant in America.  Guess what?  It cost them too much money.  They can’t count.  No one is building new coal plants because they can’t rely on it, even if they have all the coal guaranteed for the rest of their existence of the plant.  So it’s going to become a wind generation.

And all they’re doing is — it’s going to save them a hell of a lot of money, and they’re using the same transmission line that transmitted the coal-fired electric on.  We’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar.”… (link) 

If that is true, why is Germany dismantling a wind farm to make room for a coal mine? (article here)

Europe is slightly ahead of America in its quest for green energy, and they are feeling more of the consequences of that quest. As Americans feel the consequences of the bad energy decisions made by the Biden administration, we will likely follow the example of Germany and some other European countries.

Before you blame increased energy prices and inflation on the war in Ukraine, you might want to see this chart from the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

As you can see, gasoline prices started their upward climb after President Biden took office. That was not a coincidence–shutting down pipelines, limiting drilling, and discouraging banks from lending to companies dealing in fossil fuel were all part of the Biden administration’s energy policy. Gas prices had already risen $1 a gallon before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. The invasion did not  help the situation, but it did not cause the rise in gasoline prices. The inflation we are currently experiencing can be directly linked to the Biden administration’s energy policies and their excessive spending. The only way we change that is to change Congress next week and change the presidency in two years.

Actions Have Consequences

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The Biden administration’s policies have had some very interesting results. On the surface, seeing these results should have caused a rethinking of the policy involved, but it hasn’t. History will tell us whether the destruction of the American economy and the end of American energy independence was truly accidental.

On Tuesday, The Conservative Treehouse reported the following:

(Via New York Times) – The ruble cemented its unlikely status as the world’s best-performing currency, rising to new multiyear highs this week. Since collapsing in the weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered sweeping international sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy, the ruble has come roaring back.

On Tuesday, it traded at its strongest level against the U.S. dollar since June 2015. It has gained about 35 percent so far this year, beating every major currency, and has more than doubled from its post-invasion low.

[…] Higher earnings from oil and gas exports, which have surged as prices rise and demand in Asia makes up for cutbacks in Europe, have kept the ruble elevated. At the same time, Russian imports have fallen sharply, partly the result of many foreign companies pulling out of Russia, which also support the ruble. (read more)

Oddly enough, had America continued the energy policies of the Trump administration, the overall cost of oil and gas would be less, but the American economy would be stronger and the Russian ruble would be weaker. The results of the Biden administration’s energy policies and the actions of the Biden administration regarding sanctions on Russia have had exactly the opposite effect of what was needed. Historians will debate whether this was accidental or intentional. We have officially reached the place where the difference between a conspiracy theory and a news story is about four months.

More Pinocchios For The White House

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On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the Biden administration’s claim that the biggest driver of American inflation in the war in Ukraine. It is interesting that this claim is coming out as many economists believe that the economic growth numbers that will come out at the end of this month will show that America is in a recession according to the classical definition of the word recession.

The article notes:

Inflation was high and rising long before the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.6 percent in May of 2021 after rising 0.8 percent in April., On an annual basis, prices were up 5.0 percent, the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending August 2008.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was 3.8 percent over the previous 12 months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending June 1992.

The article concludes:

The biggest factor in the rise of energy prices has been increased global demand and a lack of capital investment. The latter was caused, in part, by ESG investing, Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels, and regulators discouraging fossil fuel production.

Yet inflation is still very high even with energy excluded. Absent energy, the CPI is up 6.6 percent year over year and rose 0.7 percent in May from April. This demonstrates that Putin has very little to do with the bulk of U.S. inflation.

People who normally invest in finding oil are being very cautious right now. Banks have slowed lending to oil companies for exploration because the government is not allowing the exploration needed to keep America energy independent. The first step toward ending inflation would be open up drilling (and the necessary pipelines) to keep the income from the energy market in America. The next step would be removing at least one in three government regulations on business and people trying to start businesses. Don’t look for either solution under the Biden administration.

 

It All Depends On Your Point Of Reference

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The Biden administration says oil production is at historic levels. When I read that I truly wondered what in the world the people in the Biden administration were smoking.

On Friday, The Daily Caller posted an article about this claim by the Biden administration. Some of us remember the good old days (two years ago) when America was energy independent. We are no longer energy independent, so where does the claim that we at historic levels of oil production come from?

The article reports:

Total U.S. oil production decreased to about 11.3 million barrels per day in February, down 3.9% from the 11.8 million barrels per day produced in November, the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. Between Nov. 1-Feb. 28, though, pump prices increased 6.4% from $3.39 per gallon to $3.61 a gallon.

“I was a little bit shocked when I first saw the numbers,” Dan Kish, a senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “It tells me that President Biden is going to have to work more like the devil in order to increase production.”

…By comparison, between November 2018-February 2019, production declined 1.8% and between November 2019-February 2020, production dropped just 1.1%, according to the federal data. But between November 2020-February 2021, the period when President Joe Biden replaced former President Donald Trump, production dropped a whopping 12.1%.

Dan Kish, a senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research, commented:

“If people invite you to a party and every time you go to their party, somebody throws a drink in your face, you’re probably going to stop going, right?”

That pretty much sums up the way the energy sector is feeling right now.

The article concludes:

Shortly after taking office, Biden signed an executive order pausing all oil and gas leasing on federal lands and nixed the Keystone XL pipeline permit, saying the U.S. must “prioritize the development of a clean energy economy.” Since then, the administration hasn’t held a single onshore oil and gas lease sale, even after a federal judge struck down the moratorium.

In addition, the administration chose not to appeal a ruling canceling a November oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. It has also dragged its feet formulating a five-year offshore leasing plan to replace the current one that expires in June.

Much of the oil production declines between November-February were due to lower offshore output levels, according to the EIA. Crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico dropped 9.8% in that period.

Domestic oil production surged to nearly 13 million barrels a day in November 2019, 12.8% higher than current levels, the EIA data showed.

The numbers and the actions of the Biden administration do not match their claims of success.

The Cost Of The Biden Presidency

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If inflation is a tax, Americans have just received one of the biggest tax increases in history courtesy of the Biden administration.

On April 13th, Just the News posted an article about the latest inflation numbers.

The article reports:

Wholesale prices leapt 1.4% in march from the February figures to hit a record 11.2% annual increase as inflation continues to smack the U.S. economy.

The newly released numbers follow the news Tuesday of an 8.5% annual rise in consumer prices – the highest figure on record since December of 1981.

The Producer Price Index, which is also put out by the Department of Labor, measures the price of goods and services that businesses pay each other.

A significant portion of the wholesale price increase in March was due to the jump in energy prices brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While outsized factors like the war in Ukraine, and the supply chain issues brought about by the pandemic, continue to impact inflation numbers, some economists are gesturing toward the federal government’s ongoing fiscal response to the pandemic as a driver of the issue.

Hoover Institution economist John H. Cochrane wrote in a beginning-of-year message that “n response to the disruptions of COVID-19, the U.S. government created about $3 trillion of new bank reserves, equivalent to cash, and sent checks to people and businesses. Mechanically, the Treasury issued $3 trillion of new debt, which the Fed quickly bought in return for $3 trillion of new reserves. The Treasury sent out checks, transferring the reserves to people’s banks. The Treasury then borrowed another $2 trillion or so, and sent more checks. Overall, federal debt rose nearly 30 percent. Is it at all a surprise that a year later inflation breaks out?”

The Biden administration has searched left, right, and center for a scapegoat for the inflation issue that is hurting the wallets of so many Americans ahead of the critical midterm election. Thus far, blaming Big Oil companies for price-gauging and Vladimir Putin for escalating gas prices has done little to divert attention of the American people from what they view as failing policies of the administration.

For a little historical perspective on inflation, here is a chart from The U.S. Inflation Calculator:

As you can see from the chart, the inflation rate was beginning to climb before Putin invaded Ukraine. The Biden administration’s spending and energy policies paved the way for the inflation we are now seeing. The best way to deal with the current inflation is to vote out of office anyone in Congress who continues to vote for massive spending bills and to vote President Biden out of office in 2024.

Actions Have Consequences

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On Sunday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the Biden administration’s efforts to lower the cost of gasoline in America.

The article reports:

President of Whaley Energy Consulting, Don Whaley, said the White House’s recent plan to bring down gas prices, while bold, lacks substance. He said invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) and releasing oil from the national reserves is largely symbolic.

“So, this announcement, while it’s a bold step … I’m not sure how much substance there really is behind it. And more importantly, this is not like during World War Two, when we turned all our commercial production into military production,” Whaley told NTD’s Capitol Report during a recent interview.

The article concludes:

“I think we need to de-risk the oil and gas industry. This administration from day one has waged a subtle war on oil and gas exploration in the U.S. President Biden’s nominee for Comptroller of the Currency went on record saying that it was their goal to bankrupt oil and gas explorers,” Whaley added.

Whaley is referring to comments a former Biden’s nominee for Comptroller of Currency, Saule Omarova, made during a virtual Jain Family Institute’s Social Wealth Seminar in Februray 2022, when talking about coal, gas, and oil companies she said, “We want them to go bankrupt if we want to tackle climate change.”

“And whenever prices run up, we see upticks in exploration, upticks in production. It’s not safe to do that right now, because you don’t know what sort of regulatory barricade is coming around the corner. And so why would you invest those dollars in an unstable regulatory environment that’s been created by this administration,” said Whaley.

Investors invest in things that are stable. Right now because of the Biden administration’s war on fossil fuel (they deny that war, but the facts show the war on fossil fuel is real). Why would anyone invest in an oil company if they felt that the government was going to shut down the oil industry in the near future?

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. Common sense indicates that a lot of decisions currently being made by the Biden administration have more to do with the mid-term elections than the welfare of Americans.

 

Continuing The War On American Energy Independence

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On Thursday, The Daily Caller reported that the Biden has more attacks on the fossil fuel industry in the works.

The article reports:

President Biden is calling on Congress to make companies pay fees on wells from their leases that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public lands that they are hoarding without producing,” the White House said in a fact sheet on Thursday.

“Companies that are producing from their leased acres and existing wells will not face higher fees,” the statement continued. “But companies that continue to sit on non-producing acres will have to choose whether to start producing or pay a fee for each idled well and unused acre.”

As part of the announcement Thursday, Biden will also order the Department of Energy to release a million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months.

The White House has repeatedly blamed Big Oil for not doing enough to combat high gasoline prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted global energy supplies. Biden and Democratic lawmakers suggested this month that oil companies have taken advantage of the crisis to pad their profits.

I have no way of knowing if the President actually believes the garbage he is spouting. The problem with gasoline prices sits in the White House–not in the executive boards of oil companies.

The article concludes:

Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma, meanwhile, noted the Interior Department is currently holding up permits on 3,800 leases while it conducts additional “climate change analysis,” about 4,600 permits are still awaiting approval and that the her group is defending thousands more in court.

“Western Energy Alliance has been in court for years defending 5,900 leases of 7.3 million acres and companies can’t develop on most of them when they’re caught up in legal challenges,” Sgamma told the DCNF in a statement. “But the president now wants to penalize us for these delays?”

“The White House conveniently forgets the government’s role in delaying pipelines and permits and introducing new financial and regulatory risks to American development,” she continued.

The Biden administration has actively pursued an anti-fossil fuel agenda, nixing the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ditching oil drilling in Alaska, not appealing a court ruling that prohibited a massive offshore drilling lease in the Gulf of Mexico, attempting to ban new drilling leases on federal lands and making it harder for utilities to gain approval for natural gas projects.

The actions of the Biden administration in the area of energy policy show a total lack of concern for the well being of the American people. A continuation of these policies will eventually wipe out the middle class in America. This may in fact be the goal of the Biden administration.

Who Wins In The War On Coal?

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On Wednesday, The Conservative Review posted an article about the war on coal and natural gas that is being waged by the Biden administration.

The article reports:

Oil is king when it comes to energy policy, but coal and natural gas are just as important. In the case of all three fossil fuels, Western governments have engaged in an all-out war on exploration, production, and generation, banned Russia’s exports of those products, and then gave a monopoly to China, inducing the worst possible outcome for the American consumer and our national security.

Despite the two-decade war on coal by the climate Nazis, coal is still the largest source of electricity around the globe and is the second-largest source of energy in general. In the U.S., coal was once king, composing roughly half of our electricity source just 15 years ago, but has dropped precipitously because of the natural gas boom and because of destructive eco policies. Yet it still accounts for 21% of our electricity source, so shocks to the system are going to harm American consumers.

The article includes the following chart showing the rise in the price of thermal coal:

So who is making money on the increase?

The article notes:

…Given that coal accounts for 35% of global electricity use and Europe gets 70% of its coal from Russia, the coal crisis is now worse than the oil crisis. And guess who stands to benefit? China, of course. Thanks to the disdain for our own coal by our own politicians, the evil communist regime is now the global champion of coal production and exports.

America is the Saudi Arabia of coal, but the environmentalists are not willing to let us produce coal. Instead other countries use the same amount of coal as they would if we produced it, except it’s not from us.

The article includes the following chart showing the changes in coal production:

The article concludes:

Between the war on leasing and restrictions on fracking, transportation, pipelines, and export terminals, this administration is stifling the cleanest, most efficient fuel that could lower prices of electricity and serve as a bulwark against China and Russia. Thus, LNG prices remain unnaturally high because the climate Nazis would rather we feel the pain than actually end dependence on bad actors.

Much as with COVID, where we saw a government that cried over the human death toll but downright declared war on anyone who would treat the virus early, those who complain about the energy crisis are the ones inducing it. Crushing the American consumer is not a bug of their plan, it is the primary feature, greasing the skids for the next step in the “Great Reset.”

Please follow the link above to read the entire article.

 

 

 

Some Perspective On Gasoline Prices

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Issues & Insights recently posted an article about some of the behind the scenes aspects of the rapidly rising gas prices.

The article notes:

That gasoline prices are becoming unaffordable to many Americans is becoming old news. What got us here, though, is a story unheard by much of the public. It starts and ends with green politics.

As gasoline reaches prices that made it a luxury good during President Joe Biden’s year in office, the White House is considering asking the Saudis to produce more oil. At the same time, the administration apparently wants more oil from Venezuela, which is languishing under a dictatorship that’s squarely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Iran, a member in good standing with the axis of evil.

“Joe Biden is frantically searching the globe to see if anyone but Texas might have some spare oil,” says a tweet from Bryan Dean Wright, a former CIA officer and Oregon Democrat, that sums up well the comical blundering as well as the corrupt decision-making of the current White House.

The article concludes:

But green politics won’t allow the U.S. to take advantage of its bounty of crude and natural gas. Oddly, though, the environmentalists who hold energy policy hostage when Democrats are in power have no problem with this country importing oil from nations where the drilling and transportation processes are dirtier than they are in the U.S., and the regimes are not democratically elected.

This is the California model. Officials and activists’ rush to create an all-renewables electricity grid has forced the state to import energy from producers in Arizona, Baja California, Colorado, Mexico, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah that rely on natural gas, nuclear energy, and coal, three sources that California wants to eliminate from its portfolio. But this is acceptable, because it’s happening somewhere else, outside the view sheds of the wealthy enclaves on the coast.

It’s the same with the mining of the natural resources that are needed to build batteries for electric cars, cell phones, and other modern conveniences. The political left is happy to use these items as long as the extraction for material used in their manufacture is done away from their myopic gazes in countries where environmental protections hardly exist.

Yes, this not-in-my-back yard attitude is hypocritical, but worse than that, it produces poor public policy. We hope some day a majority of voters consistently figures this out in election after election.

Green energy destroyed the Spanish economy and did not lower carbon emissions (article here). Let’s not do that in America.

Does This Make Sense To Anyone?

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President Biden’s energy policies have been a disaster for America and for the world. We are no longer exporting enough fuel to Europe to counter the influence of the Russian oil and natural gas sales. We are no longer a net exporter of natural gas and oil, which impacts our economy. The closing of the Keystone XL Pipeline put a lot of people out of work and shifted the transport of oil to methods that are not as environmentally safe as a pipeline. The unscientific focus on climate change has destroyed the American economy and made the world less safe. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has chosen to double down on their energy policy rather than make the necessary course correction.

On Thursday, Breitbart posted an article illustrating the problem.

The article reports:

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CBS Evening News,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question on whether the United States will cut off purchases of oil and gas from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine by stating that we’re trying to ensure “that we inflict maximum pain on Russia” while at the same time, “minimizing any of the pain to us.”

Host Norah O’Donnell asked, “Russia’s economy’s fueled by gas, and the U.S. is a consumer. So, would the U.S. consider cutting off oil and gas purchases from Russia?”

Blinken responded, “Well, what we’re doing, Norah, across the board, is making sure that we inflict maximum pain on Russia for what President Putin has done, while minimizing any of the pain to us.”

What Secretary of State Blinken did not say (for obvious political reasons) was that because America has stopped utilizing its own energy sources, we are financing the Russian attack on Ukraine. That is a disgrace.

When Actions And Words Do Not Match Up

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Gasoline prices in America have risen significantly in the past eleven months. America is not longer energy independent. Partially because of the increased cost of gasoline, Americans are paying more for everything right now. President Biden has said that he is concerned. But what is he going to do about it?

The American Thinker posted an article today titled, “Joe Isuzu Biden: Concern-trolling high energy prices to voters — and working on the sly to raise them higher.”

The article reports:

Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed that high energy prices, including soaring prices at the pump, are some kind of priority for him. He’s made loud noises for the cameras about a couple of piddly measures of his to cut energy costs for consumers, which would at best be temporary and at worst, useless. But out on the sly, he’s stepping up his war on Big Oil, something he doesn’t want you to know about, which will raise energy prices. He’s still Creepy Joe.

The White House has stated in a press release that President Biden is doing everything he can to lower the cost of fuel for Americans. President Biden’s actions paint a different picture.

The article includes the following:

…from Axios:

Oil and gas companies should pay more to drill on federal lands and waters, the Department of the Interior argued in a report released Friday, saying that the current rates were “outdated.”

Driving the news: The Department of Interior report said that the federal government’s oil and gas leasing and permitting program “fails to provide a fair return to taxpayers, even before factoring in the resulting climate-related costs that must be borne by taxpayers.

Note “the resulting climate-related costs that must be borne by taxpayers.” Climate change is not proven science. Why should the taxpayers be forced to pick up the tab for a theory?

The article continues:

Axios yaks a lot about the federal rate being lower than some private rates, but forgets that much of federal land for lease is utterly undeveloped, with zero roads, zero electricity, zero satellite transmission, zero internet, zero water, the works. The other thing is that many of these unexplored federal lands are pretty speculative. A rate would be high and would find a buyer were an oil company to be fairly sure it would get a good return on its investment, meaning, it knew the oil was there and waiting. With many federal lands, that’s pretty speculative, which would explain low rates.

The report cited was released on the Friday after Thanksgiving, a classic ‘Friday night news dump’ as they say, done with hopes that voters would not notice. An analyst cited by Axios noticed, however:

    • “This approach could still significantly curtail future federal oil and gas production activity while remaining consistent with existing laws,” a note from research firm ClearView Energy Partners said.

The article concludes:

Biden is saying one thing, and doing another. Anyone with a brain can see that taxing energy companies at higher rates is going to have fewer companies taking chances. Anyone with a lick of common sense can surmise that shutting down pipelines is going to mean less energy and higher prices at the pump. Joe is hoping you don’t see that as he throws out his shiny strategic reserve bauble to distract you. Anyone with any degree of mental sharpness can see that Joe Isuzu is a three-card monte operator telling voters the sky is green and hoping they’ll be easy marks for it, believing him against the evidence of their own eyes. He seems to think we’re stupid.

Please follow the link to the article for further details. The difference between what the Biden administration is doing and what the Biden administration says it is doing is the reason people hate politicians.

This Is Not A Surprise To Anyone Who Has Been Paying Attention

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One America News is reporting the following today:

U.S. President Joe Biden’s global energy security adviser said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is getting close to using natural gas as a political tool if Russia is holding back fuel exports to Europe as it suffers an energy crunch.

“I think we are getting close to that line if Russia indeed has the gas to supply and it chooses not to, and it will only do so if Europe accedes to other demands that are completely unrelated,” Amos Hochstein, Biden’s adviser, told reporters, when asked if Putin was using gas as a weapon.

Hochstein said gas prices in Europe have been driven higher not just by events in the region but also by a dry season in China that has reduced energy output from hydropower and increased global competition for natural gas.

Still, while a number of factors have led to the European gas crisis, Russia is best placed to come to the aid of Europe, he said.

“There is no doubt in my mind, and the (International Energy Agency) has itself validated, that the only supplier that can really make a big difference for European energy security at the moment for this winter is Russia,” Hochstein said.

He said Russia can increase upstream production of gas, and should do it quickly through existing pipelines.

Under the Trump administration, America was approaching the point where its natural gas exports would be a counter to the energy blackmail Russia has historically practiced. Ending America’s energy independence will be looked on in the future as one of the biggest mistakes made by the Biden administration.

In What World Does This Make Sense?

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The Western Journal posted an article today about the Biden administration’s energy policy. About the kindest adjective for the policy I can come up with is illogical.

The article reports:

The Biden administration, which began its reign by turning off the spigot of oil flowing from North American sources, is now begging Middle Eastern nations for anything they can spare.

The White House on Wednesday released a statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in which Sullivan said the United States needs foreign nations to bail it out.

“Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery. The price of crude oil has been higher than it was at the end of 2019, before the onset of the pandemic,” the statement said.

The American Automobile Association on Wednesday said the average price of gasoline in the United States is $3.185 per gallon. That’s more than $1 higher than the average price of $2.183 from a year ago.

“While OPEC+ recently agreed to production increases, these increases will not fully offset previous production cuts that OPEC+ imposed during the pandemic until well into 2022. At a critical moment in the global recovery, this is simply not enough,” the statement continued.

“President [Joe] Biden has made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump.”

“Although we are not a party to OPEC, the United States will always speak to international partners regarding issues of significance that affect our national economic and security affairs, in public and private. We are engaging with relevant OPEC+ members on the importance of competitive markets in setting prices. Competitive energy markets will ensure reliable and stable energy supplies, and OPEC+ must do more to support the recovery,” the statement said.

I don’t mean to be cynical, but you could fertilize your garden with the above statement. The statement was made as a diversion from the policies of the administration that caused the price of gasoline at the pump to rise.

Some of us remember the gasoline lines of the 1970’s because we depended on Middle East oil rather than developing our own resources. The dependency influenced American foreign policy in a negative way. President Trump freed us from that dependency. President Biden is bringing us back to that dependency.

The Biden Administration’s Policies Could Be Very Expensive For Taxpayers

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Townhall is reporting today that a Canadian company is suing the Biden administration over the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The article reports:

Weeks after TC Energy officially terminated the Keystone XL pipeline because President Biden revoked a key permit, the company announced it is seeking billion in damages from the U.S. government.

On Friday, the company behind the project filed a Notice of Intent with the State Department, Office of the Legal Adviser, “to initiate a legacy North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to recover economic damages resulting from the revocation of the Keystone XL Project’s Presidential Permit.”

TC Energy is seeking over $15 billion due to the U.S. government’s “breach of its NAFTA obligations.”

In pulling the order, Biden said that “leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”

The article concludes:

“Since his first day in office, President Biden has made it his mission to undo all the progress of the previous administration, with complete disregard for the Constitutional limits on his power,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “His decision to revoke the pipeline permit is not only unlawful but will also devastate the livelihoods of thousands of workers, their families, and their communities.”

There are also 21 states suing the Biden administration for the cancellation. Unfortunately, if these lawsuits are successful, American taxpayers will be paying the bill.

When The Chickens Come Home To Roost

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Yesterday Legal Insurrection posted an article that illustrates the duplicity of the Biden campaign and the Biden presidency.

The article reports:

In October 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden privately told U.S. miners he would support boosting domestic production of metals used to make electric vehicles, solar panels, and other products crucial to his climate plan.

The U.S. Democratic presidential candidate also supports bipartisan efforts to foster a domestic supply chain for lithium, copper, rare earths, nickel and other strategic materials that the United States imports from China and other countries, the sources said.

Just last month, Biden persuaded the nation’s largest coal miners’ union to support the move away from coal and other fossil fuels in exchange for a “true energy transition” that includes thousands of jobs in renewable energy and spending on technology to make coal cleaner.

Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said ensuring jobs for displaced miners — including 7,000 coal workers who lost their jobs last year — is crucial to any infrastructure bill taken up by Congress.

“I think we need to provide a future for those people, a future for anybody that loses their job because of a transition in this country, regardless if it’s coal, oil, gas or any other industry for that matter,″ Roberts said in an online speech to the National Press Club.

“We talk about a ‘just transition’ all the time,″ Roberts added. “I wish people would quit using that. There’s never been a just transition in the history of the United States.″

Unfortunately the coal miners’ union forgot that President Biden has a long history in politics–some of it indicating that his word might not be trustworthy.

The article notes:

This month, Biden “forgot” the promises. Biden’s team said it will rely on ally countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and focus on processing them domestically into battery parts. The move is part of a strategy designed to placate the Democratic Party’s eco-activists.

The plans will be a blow to U.S. miners who had hoped Biden would rely primarily on domestically sourced metals, as his campaign had signaled last autumn, to help fulfill his ambitions for a less carbon-intensive economy.

We can debate whether or not it is foolish to expect any politician to keep his promises, but you might want to include in that debate that President Trump did keep his promises.

The article also notes:

The plan will reportedly rely on metals imported from Canada, Australia, and Brazil. This is not a trivial economic move, either. Biden plans to make the entire federal fleet electric.

That includes 245,000 in various federal agencies… 225,000 in the United States Postal Service… and another 173,000 in the military.

That adds up to a grand total of 643,000 cars, trucks, and vans set for an upgrade on the U.S. government’s dime. And after the year we’ve seen for EVs in 2020, this should come as no surprise.

As an extra bonus, electric car manufacture will also be outsourced.

This does not sound like the coal miners’ union will be benefiting at all from the energy policies of the Biden administration.