There is nothing more tiresome in Washington than the eternal circle of hypocrisy that comes when the branches of government change hands. What was once presidential overreach and legislating by fiat becomes praiseworthy initiative taking. What was once obstruction becomes #resistance. Former deficit hawks pass trillion dollar bills. The filibuster goes from an outdated usurpation of the voters' will to a time-honored consensus builder.
The most tired example of this phenomenon is the perennial election-year complaint that gas prices are going up and obviously it's the fault of the president. This talking point dates all the way back in the Nixon and Carter administrations, but Democrats perfected the attack when Bush 43 was president and Republicans reclaimed it when Obama took office.
Now it's evidently Democrats' turn again. The Daily Beast reports Monday that they plan to make rising gas prices the centerpiece of their summer election-year attacks against President Donald Trump. Already Chuck Schumer has taken to the Senate floor to attack Trump on the issue, blaming the price increases on his decision to pull out of the Iran deal (an Iran deal Schumer supposedly opposes, but good luck figuring that one out).
But as with the attacks against Bush and Obama, the attack on Trump lacks teeth. Economists widely accept that presidents have only minimal control over gas prices. As University of Chicago economist and Obama advisor Richard H. Thaler noted in 2012, while most Americans think presidents can control gas prices, "any respectable economist" will tell you they cannot.
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From the article: "Economists widely accept that presidents have only minimal control over gas prices."
ReplyDeleteExcept this will backfire on the Dems. President Trump was on twitter the other day complaining about the gas price and the next day Saudi Arabia announced they would increase production which will bring the price down.
So maybe it just takes the right President to get the job done.
The President can't control gas prices but Congress can. Congress is allowing price gouging, price fixing and allows the petroleum companies to operate a monopoly. They do nothing because they love their investment income and kick backs. Just like the Telecommunication, Internet companies and Insurance Companies.
ReplyDeleteWe have our own oil resources, and when OPEC wants to rape us, we can refine our own much cheaper, so don't pee on my head and tell me...
ReplyDeleteSomething else is driving the US to suck up to the OPEC lords to make this happen, so yes, it's Congress and the POTUS.
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ReplyDeleteYou are falling victim to the mind control.
Don't believe everything an actor tells you on the intelligence-controlled media.
Obviously there are a few people on here that don't realize that fracking for oil is a whole lot more expensive than just pumping it out of a well in the ground. For fracked shale oil to be profitable the per barrel price of oil needs to be above $65.
ReplyDelete4:00 If there is price fixing then how come there is such a large price difference in different parts of the country that is greater then the state tax on fuel? Also if there is price fixing how come you can drive down the street and see a difference in price by as much as 20 cents a gallon?
8:15 you should join with 4:00 and start a conspiracy theory club.