Midterm elections have a way of bringing out the worst in politicians. It’s not just the flubs, gaffes and stumbles they make as the campaigns rush toward the finish. It’s the things they say which really tell us who they are.
Consider President Joe Biden’s remarks about oil and gas companies. Thanks to high energy prices and long-standing decisions to curtail investment in new energy production, those companies have made historically high profits.
And it’s those high profits that brought out the real Joe Biden:
Biden accused oil and gas companies of profiting off “a windfall of war” in Ukraine, and rewarding their shareholders instead of helping millions of Americans who continue to face higher prices at the gas pump. The president called on energy producers to expand output, invest in new refining capacity and lower prices for U.S. consumers.
“If they don’t, they’re going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions,” he said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room at the White House, flanked by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm.
“It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering, meet their responsibilities in this country, give the American people a break and still do very well.”
War profiteering. How illuminating. Mr. Biden’s remarks illustrate that he has a politician’s eye view of how commodity markets work. Meaning he doesn’t understand them at all. Here’s a handy primer on how the oil market works.
As is usual when someone doesn’t understand something, fear and hatred substitute for understanding. For Biden, that’s expressed as cheap hyperbole, mixed with a threat of state action unless the companies in question bend to his particular political needs.
That’s no way to run a government, never mind a way to keep markets working. But it’s classic Biden – economically illiterate, politically tone-deaf and ultimately futile.
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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