It’s no secret that high gas prices have President Joe Biden and other Democratic pols in a tizzy.
Enough of one that they have decided it’s good policy, and better political optics, to bully gas station owners over how much they charge at the pump. The president’s Twitter team published this gem over the long holiday weekend:
My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril.
Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.
Setting aside the notion that an American president feels the need to harangue the franchise owner on the corner…the economic illiteracy on display in Mr. Biden’s tweet is inexcusable. (RELATED: Fox’s McEnany Responds to Biden Adviser’s ‘Liberal World Order’ Remark)
It would be generous and kind to blame the communications staff for this. But the buck stops with Joe, so the blame is all his. As such Mr. Biden deserves the strong corrective he gets from, among others, The Wall Street Journal:
More than a quarter of gas stations have closed since the 1990s because they couldn’t make the economics work. If retailers were to sell fuel at cost, most would go out of business. Perhaps those owned by large refiners would survive, but they’d be accused of predatory pricing by Mr. Biden’s antitrust cops.
The President’s economic ignorance isn’t a one-off. In recent months he has accused oil and gas companies of price gouging and demanded that they increase production even while his Administration threatens to put them out of business. Mr. Biden doesn’t understand that businesses make long-term decisions based on demand expectations and policy signals. Jeff Bezos called the President’s weekend tweet “either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.” They aren’t mutually exclusive.
Indeed, the Biden team’s misdirection is just a manifestation of its misunderstanding…of market function, prices, incentives, regulation and so on.
And if you think the gas station episode was bad, buckle-up, because Team Biden is about to face a cascade of troubles thanks to one of his oldest political backers…Big Labor:
…the labor contract for 29 West Coast ports, which covers 22,000 dockworkers, lapsed over the weekend.
For now, talks continue; the two sides are reportedly fighting over port managers’ desire to automate more operations, as major ports in Europe and Asia have already done. But if a work stoppage or slowdown results, it could wreak havoc on the country’s already-fragile supply chains, with potentially catastrophic consequences for inflation and the economy.
Also, of course, for Democrats’ chances in the midterms.
This isn’t some remote risk. The last time this contract was being renegotiated, starting in 2014, talks broke down and work slowdowns led to expensive shipping delays. The Obama administration had to intervene. Labor disruptions (strikes, lockouts, slowdowns) also occurred during West Coast port contract negotiations in 2002, 2008 and 2012.
Does Biden side with his old allies in the labor movement? Or does his professed determination to fight inflation convince him to convince them to get back to work?
Given Biden’s grasp of economics, we should prepare for the worst.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Norman Leahy has written about national and Virginia politics for more than 30 years with outlets ranging from The Washington Post to BearingDrift.com. A consulting writer, editor, recovering think tank executive and campaign operative, Norman lives in Virginia.
Americans are hurting at the pump, biden asking for lower pump prices, the bidens are selling our oil reserve to communist China?.Why are the bidens can selling off our oil National Oil reserve Reduced now by 50%, ALERT NATIONAL SECURITY RISK, In the first three months of 2022 alone, the U.S. sent nearly 52 million barrels of oil and petroleum to Communist China, Who the fxxx set this deal up ? Hunter Biden?
Let’s Go Brandon
Just plain IGNORANCE. For what? Green New Deal? One question, where has that gotten us? Uh, where we are today.
Illiteracy is a poor word to describe what Biden is doing! If you think his agenda is done out of ignorance, DREAM ON! Everyone else thinks it is being purposely!
Joe is a communist and hates the US. He has commitments to China he has to deliver on. He needs to be jailed for what he is doing to the US.
Amen! You are so correct. He stole the election and is handing the US to Communist China at warp speed.
Wow, what a loon. Between Biden & the nutty AOC, you can put all their joint knowledge of the economy in a big bag & what will come out is a screeching nut job Nancy Peelousy.
His whole Admin is amatuers day 1
No – even amateurs get things right sometimes; even a blind squirrel will fina a nut sometimes. But these guys get it wrong EVERYTIME! Hard to believe that’s an accident.
People voted for Biden who never tried to hide what he was or what he planned to do to the country. Those who voted for Biden are to blame for this. Never underestimate the stupidity among Americans.
You are correct but fraud put him into office.
Over 100 years after it was debunked and proven conclusively it did not work, Keynesian economic theory was thrown out. Except in congress, where every single democrat who ever served in the past century still depends on it as their go to for economic policy. Biden led the charge every time for the past 50 years. Illiterate is spelled d=e-m-o-c-r-a-t.
If Biden ever had even a basic understanding of economics it has gone the way of his other senses – out in thin air. His ill-conceived, ineffective policies are bankrupting this nation. Our country will be in a world of hurt if we fail to elect a Republican majority to both houses of Congress in the forthcoming mid-term elections. Congress controls the purse and hopefully a Republican majority would put a stop to all the waste useless spending the Democrats have engaged in over the past 18-months. People need to understand that Biden couldn’t have raided our treasury and enacted his disastrous policies without a Congressional majority. To change our economic condition for the better elect conservative Republicans to the House and Senate.
“Given Biden’s grasp of economics, we should prepare for the worst.”
This statement has been blazingly obvious for 50 years, yet…here we are.
“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” ~ G. Hegel
HWY JOE! (
HEY JOE! (Can you hear me now?) Here’s the answer to our gas prices:
DRILL, BABY, DRILL!
But you won’t, because you’re a Communist, and WANT to hure the USA!
Biden has been dumb as a rock his entire life, not only now when he lost his little mind completely. Graduated from Syracuse, NY University’s law school at the bottom of his class and the only employment he could find was in government where failure is rewarded.
Demented Joe is an inept, incompetent, moron surrounded by corrupt political hacks and socialist. He is a serial, pathological liar and hypocrite.
A class of political elites has been allowed to develop and grow in our government. These elites have never held an actual job but have lived off our government and our taxes. Our founding fathers never envisioned this structure of government. Our elected officials and the minions that work for them have corrupted our political system.
WE THE PEOPLE need to take our government back!
VOTE ALL DEMOCRATS AND RINOs out of office and demand term limits!