Remember back under Obama when you were paying $4 at the pump?
Under the Obama administration, we had the worst of both worlds. Since solar and wind initiatives can't come close to meeting our energy needs, pipelines managed by the U.S. and Canada were simply cancelled in favor of ones run by terror-sponsoring regimes. Clean natural gas infrastructure was scrapped in favor of giant ships carrying crude oil over tossing seas.
Under Trump, the reverse happened (although the infrastructure for new extraction methods had already begun being built in places like North Dakota and Pennsylvania in the 2000s). Environmental protections still remained, and industries got smarter about how to invent better methods to source energy.
But America was free to invent and invest in her own energy.
It worked. Piping oil from North Dakota is just a wee bit easier than shipping it from Saudi Arabia.
Now, a new report shows that gas is up 18% and oil 50% since Biden took office. On its own, this stat means nothing. After all, the price went higher under Trump at several points.
That being said, we've been in an... unique situation this year. Demand for oil has plummeted due to lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements.
But as the vaccine rolls out to tens of millions of Americans, people are going to get back to work and play.
This means the demand for oil is going to bounce back, but since production was cut back due to the lesser demand (oil companies don't like tons of extra inventory just chilling), it's going to take a while to ramp back up said production.
This is where Biden comes in.
Biden made it a priority on day numero uno to kill the Keystone XL Pipeline and prohibited new drilling leases on federal land. This means America will have to pay shipping for more of its oil from overseas.
Biden also "restricted U.S. funds in worldwide carbon energy programs" and "eliminated 'fossil fuel subsidies.'"
Translation: Gas is about to get expensive.
But don't take my word for it. The warning comes straight from Steven Kopits, the managing director of Princeton Energy Advisors.
"Biden has substantial political risk heading in the 2022 midterms," he said. "He would do well to articulate a more balanced energy package because we may well see gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, and Republicans will not hesitate to finger the moratorium on leasing as the cause."
Another energy expert had this to say:
"In four years, we had made the U.S. energy independent and denied the bad guys the ability to control global oil prices. The Democrats undo it in two weeks. Just incredible."
