The great thing about our freedom-based economic system is that the government doesn’t have to do much at all in order for the people to prosper and the economy to grow. Just sit back and watch the people create businesses, put each other to work, and provide for every imaginable human need.
But we now have a government in the hands of people who hate America and hate its freedom-based system. The current administration is actively working to undermine the American economy and advance the interests of our geopolitical adversaries. In no area is this more true than the field of energy. In this field, the Biden Administration came in with the explicit goal of undermining American energy production. Indeed if an administration wanted to undermine American energy prosperity as much as possible and comparably benefit our adversaries, it is difficult to think of anything it would do different from what the Biden Administration is doing.
During most of my adult life, “energy independence” has been a bipartisan goal throughout the federal government. That goal was actually achieved under President Trump. Within just a few months, Biden has undone that achievement. The administration has made no secret of its goals to reduce U.S. energy production of the things that work (i.e., fossil fuels) and to drive up their price. Let’s just make a small list of key actions in furtherance of those goals:
- On his first day in office, Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, intended to bring some 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada into the U.S.
- The next day, Biden suspended all permitting of oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters.
- Biden’s EPA then set in motion the reversal of Trump Administration loosening of rules on methane emissions in the process of producing oil and gas. These tightened Biden restrictions have the effect of increasing the cost of production.
- Currently in the works are rules from the SEC to require extensive new disclosures by energy producers (and others) of supposed “climate”-related risks.
These are just examples of an overall hostility to fossil fuel energy development, specifically intended to have the effect of making energy projects more difficult and more expensive to develop. And so far, the government’s actions are rapidly accomplishing their intended goals:
- The price of a barrel of WTI crude oil has jumped from $53.30 on January 20 (Inauguration Day) to $74.56 yesterday. Crude oil prices are currently at a six year high.
- The average price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump has risen from $2.42 in January 2021 to $3.17 in June, according to EIA data.
OPEC members and Russia are the obvious candidates to step in to take advantage of the price increases, but it seems that those parties are currently having some kind of stand-off as to who gets how much of a quota when production goes up. From the Wall Street Journal, July 6:
[A] squabble between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over quotas is blocking an agreement [to lift production].
Do you think that a competent American administration might want to see American production go up at such a time? Wrong:
A White House spokesperson on Monday said it is urging OPEC and its allies [including Russia] to quickly come up with a compromise “that will allow proposed production increases to move forward.” The Administration is worried that higher gas prices could undermine Mr. Biden’s climate agenda and spending plans.
In lieu of energy independence, we are now seeing imports from Russia reach highs not seen for ten years. From S&P Global, April 16:
Imports of Russian oil, which consists mainly of fuel oil feedstocks and some crude, recently reached a 10-year high as US refineries continue to ramp up runs as the economy starts to recover from COVID-19. Russian oil imports as a share of US total oil imports hit a record high of 8% in January 2021, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, up from 4% during 2018.
It’s hard to imagine a more counter-productive set of policies than what the Biden Administration is implementing under the rubric of supposedly “fighting climate change.”
From afar it looks like the lunatics are trying to start a civil war
Biden isn’t proposing anything that hasn’t been policy in multiple European states for well over a decade… with none of the predicted ill effects.
I see Griffy-poo et.al. are highly active on this thread. And staying true-to-form. As to this latest blurt of inanity:
‘Biden isn’t proposing anything that hasn’t been policy in multiple European states for well over a decade… with none of the predicted ill effects’
Griff-meister – The peoples of said ‘multiple European states’ do not have a) The history of revolution against tyranny (excepting maybe the French), and 2) The right to keep and bear arms. These facts make any ‘ill effects’ – such as uprising against the ‘policies’ instituted – near to impossible to achieve for most countries’ constituencies.
Here in the grand, good ‘ole US of A we – for now – have both of these characteristics at hand. All it will take is for the ‘policies’ to reach the point of boiling the frog – and the frog (read: American people) will leap up out of the pot and revolt against tyrannical fuel, energy, and/or other policies.
For now petrol/gasoline is relatively affordable; most foodstuffs, while price-inflated are still within the average Americans’ budget; and the electric bill has not increased to the point of pain (in most parts of the country). The pot is, however slowly starting to boil through ‘policies’ being imposed – even as we converse – in the USA.
The boiling point should occur when the average monetary pain reaches the proverbial boiling point – coming soon it seems. The stop-gap of government-subsidized largess in the forms of additional unemployment compensation ($200 to $400 or more per week) are set to end soon. People will either starve, get thrown out of their apartments (flats), or get their tails back to a productive job. If they can’t pay the cost of basic services which are inflated through actions of their government – this is when the ‘pain’ exceeds the threshold, the ‘pot boils’, and people revolt.
Get it, Mein Freund??
Best regards,
MCR
“But we now have a government in the hands of people who hate America and hate its freedom-based system.”
AN oxymoron.
Your democracy voted for Biden:
“Trump 232. 81,283,786 votes (51.3%). 270 electoral votes to win. 74,222,552 votes (46.8%).” (Reuters)
The “people” put the government in power.
And no Trump did not lose out because of massive voter fraud.
Just like there is no paedo ring operation out of a Pizza shop that Trump was trying to eliminate, mr Qanon believers.
To contrast we have Trump’s loyalty to “America’s freedom-based system.”
“In a statement issued by his Save America campaign, Mr Trump also said he would trust Russia over “sleezebags” and “lowlifes” the US intelligence agencies, and claimed that his 2018 summit with Mr Putin in Helsinki helped win Washington Moscow’s respect.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/06/11/donald-trump-says-trusts-vladimir-putin-us-intelligence-asks/
Mmmm- lets see. No. Doesn’t scan.
Still dont think that Russia has a “freedom-based system” that Trump (obviously) really, really liked.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/06/16/remarks-by-president-biden-in-press-conference-4/
“I also told him that no President of the United States could keep faith with the American people if they did not speak out to defend our democratic values, to stand up for the universal rights and fundamental freedoms that all men and women have, in our view. That’s just part of the DNA of our country.
So, human rights is going to always be on the table, I told him. It’s not about just going after Russia when they violate human rights; it’s about who we are. How could I be the President of the United States of America and not speak out against the violation of human rights?”
That should get the echoes going.
“And no Trump did not lose out because of massive voter fraud.”
BS, I say. There would not be such opposition to election audits if the ”winners” believed that, obviously. They would welcome them, not screech about them being a threat to democracy, and be screeching about efforts to make elections more resistant to election “magic” ; )
John: One state (NV) is threatening criminal penalties simply for calling for an audit.
“BS, I say”
You can say that all you want.
It doesn’t matter a jot without evidence.
Throwing fits over people wanting to take a close look at the “evidence”, is itself evidence to me. As is claiming reasonable measures to prevent voter/election fraud are anti-democratic. I see no reason to think someone who doesn’t consider such things evidence is anything but a con artist . . or a victim of con artists perhaps.
Another idiot.
On the bright side,it appears that reality is biting with the Biden administration.-
“ ‘Green’ President clears more Oil, Gas projects than Trump”- The Times, July 14,2021.
“Washington: Oil and Gas drilling projects on US public land are being approved at the fastest rate since George W.Bush was President,casting doubt on Joe Biden’s commitment to a green agenda.
Mr. Biden campaigned on a promise to prevent new drilling on federal lands and reduce carbon emissions.
His Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, opposed drilling on public and tribal lands throughout her career in Congress.
However the Interior Department approved 2500 permits in the first 6 months of this year, according to an analysis by the Associated Press, including 2100 since Mr. Biden took office on January 20……
Decisions were pending on a further 4700 drilling applications as of June 1.”
No one votes for anyone to do this.
Of course they did. It’s all part of “building back better”. What else did anyone who voted for Biden expect?