What's That Got To Do With the Price of Gas? #196
By Hank Silverberg
I went to put some air in my tires on Sunday. The colder weather got to them as usual. No big deal.
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| (Price at the pump in my neighborhood) |
While I was there I got some gas instead of waiting until Monday on my way to teach. I was not too surprised by the price, $3.29 a gallon in my neck of the woods. It's been hovering around there for a few weeks now.
But a sticker that someone had placed on the pump annoyed me, so much so I ripped it off before thinking to take a picture for this blog.
No, I didn't break the law. It was not an official inspection sticker or anything like that.
It was a very small picture of Joe Biden, pointing in the direction of the pump price with the quote "I did that," implying that something he has done has led to the spike in gas prices over the last few weeks.
That is, of course, nonsense. Anyone who knows basic economics can tell you the price of gas fluctuates based on supply and demand. Any long- term energy policy the Biden Administration is proposing has NO impact on the price of gas in the short run.
Gasoline prices spiked as people got vaccines, stopped staying home, put on masks and ventured back to work or elsewhere as the rules of the pandemic loosened.
Gas costs more because more people are driving more miles than they were at any time in the last 18 months.
Larger demand, higher prices. A good portion of what you pay for gasoline is for taxes, both federal and state. But the federal gas tax, which is 18.4 cents, has not been raised since 1993. Some states have raised their gas tax in recent years, but that only leads to a spike in prices when the new tax takes effect, usually July 1st or January 1st. (Virginia's gas tax went up to 26.2 cents per gallon this past July. Nineteen states are higher. Pennsylvania's is the highest in the country at 57.5 cents per gallon.)
AAA says the average price nationwide for a gallon of regular as of 11/7/21 was $3.42.
That is the highest national average since 2014. It's higher in California, at $4.63, but lower in Mississippi at $3.09. You can check out your state here:
But blaming it on Joe Biden just ten months after he took office is just plain wrong.
Here's why gas prices are high:
Crude Oil prices, which account for 52% of the retail price of gas, are up because OPEC and other oil producing countries have decided to keep the supply limited. The White House has been pressuring them to increase the supply, and last week they agreed to only a modest increase in production.
Gas Prices: Why Are Gas Prices So High in 2021? | Money
3 Reasons Why Gas Prices Are so High Right Now in the US (businessinsider.com)
The Energy Information Administration outlines the current spike at the pump this way:
Demand is up as people get back to business.
Supply has been limited by OPEC.
Hurricane Ida shut down a large part of domestic production and some refineries in August, limiting the supply of domestic crude.
Less supply and higher demand = higher prices. Economics 101.
Just in case you still don't believe it, these same factors are raising the price of gas worldwide.
Bottom line, and it needs to be said a million times: actions by the President of the United States, any president, short of a major war, have no impact on the short-term price of gasoline at the pump.
A Sickening Exploitation of The Holocaust
You may remember a few months ago I wrote in my blog about a local collectibles dealer who was selling two Nazi pennants that were on prominent display in his Fredericksburg store.
I had confronted him about such exploitation of the horrors of the Holocaust, and he had kicked me out of his store.
https://hanksilverberg.blogspot.com/2021/08/those-who-forget-past-by-hank.html
Well, this week there is something worse.
An auctioneer in Jerusalem had listed for sale eight original tattoo stamps of digits used to brand inmates at the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where a million Jews and tens
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| (Auschwitz is now a Holocaust memorial) |
Yad Vashem, Israel's' Holocaust Memorial, called that "morally unacceptable," and went to court seeking custody of the stamps.
Israeli court freezes sale of Auschwitz tattoo stamps (artdaily.com)
An Israeli court has issued an injunction on the sale of the horrific tattoo stamps until a further hearing can be held.
Like I said about the Nazi pennants and Confederate Flags, such items belong in museums where they can be put in context, not glorified in some private display.
One Trillion Dollars!
It's actually $1.2 trillion. After months of haggling and one week too late to help Democrats in the Virginia's governor's race, Congress has FINALLY passed an infrastructure package.
It's going to mean billions of dollars spent over the next ten years to fix and build roads, bridges, railroads, water and energy systems all across the country, and it's about time. Just about every American is going to indirectly get something from this bill.
The nation's infrastructure earned a C- score from The American Society of Civil Engineers this year. There's a good chance you travel everyday over at least one road or bridge in your town that is crumbling from age or overuse. In fact, 20% of the nation's highways or major roads are in poor condition, along with 45,000 bridges.
Those are the obvious items in the package.
Here are a few more:
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| (DC area's Metro with the Silver Line under construction is among those which will get more money.) |
$65 billion to improve the nation's broadband system, specifically in rural areas where such coverage is sparse. (It will likely lower the price everybody pays for such service.)
$7.5 billion for electric vehicles like school buses, and another $7.5 billion to build a network of plug-in electric vehicle charging stations.
$65 billion to rebuild the electric grid, which has been failing at an alarming rate in the last decade.
$55 billion to upgrade water systems focused on getting rid of lead pipe service lines that cause illness.
And much more.
How is it going to be paid for? There are a variety of ways the money will be raised, but it will increase the federal deficit for sure. The legislation does NOT include any tax increases for those making under $400,000 a year, nor does it raise the federal gas tax (see above). Congress eliminated proposed tax hikes for the country's largest corporations.
Who gets screwed the most? Aging and disabled Americans who will NOT get the promised increase in spending ($400 billion) for caregiving. Congress cut it out.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
The dumbest quote this week comes from a sports figure-- Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers-- you know, the one who tried out briefly to be the new Jeopardy host.
Rogers is not vaccinated. But he says he is "immune" from Covid-19 because of a regimen of other things he is taking, including the drug Ivermectin. So here's his quote:
"Why do people hate Ivermectin? Not just because Trump championed it, but because it’s a cheap generic, and you can’t make any money off of it.”
Ah. No, Aaron. People don't like it because it doesn't work and is NOT approved to treat Covid-19. It's a drug given to horses and other animals to fight parasites. I think Rogers may have been sacked a few times too many.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
(Copies of my latest book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com
for instructions on how to get a copy
at a reduced price and with a signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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