Robber barons still exist, and it's always been the case with energy. That aside, what went on during the height of the pandemic was pretty bad, all things being relative. Of course it's all about supply and demand, but let's not kid ouselves. There was a lot of Shady Brady and Bill Belicheat going on.
I saw one at 7-11 here a couple of weeks.... I didnt really understand why it was there and chuckled. But if theyre supposed to mean the president raised the gas prices, well that's pretty stupid, and shows general lack of understanding.
Culture war stuff? Don't underestimate its impact on political discourse these days. But, I hope the Biden DOJ takes a look into possible price gouging.
It's also true that we're on a war footing at this point. We can pretend all we want but WWIII is here and it's just a question of who is going to wind up on which side. We're going to pressure China not to support Russia. If China says no we're going to sanction China at the same level we are sanctioning Russia. That's WWIII. If China remains ambiguous we're going to watch for signs that they are enabling Russia to avoid sanctions at which point we're going to sanction China. That's WWIII. If China commits privately to not supporting Russia with hard assets and maintains that commitment, which is the best we can hope for, Putin is likely to escalate heavily. That's WWIII. There are almost no ways to avoid WWIII at this point. The only person in the world that can avoid that outcome is Putin, by backing down and leaving Ukraine. Odds on that?
He has certainly contributed to inflation, which has resulted in higher prices, it's not stupid at all, but so did Trump and every other president. All money printers. There isn't price gauging, it's based on future supply and future demand. Putting restrictions or being even more hostile toward oil companies, will just result in even higher prices.
It's the other way around. When we become really hostile to oil companies they will lower prices to sell what they can before they are put out of business. High oil prices will turn into high gas prices which will lead consumers to go to alternatives to oil-based technologies. The component of gas prices that will remain steady is the ratio that is leveraged against taxation. All other components are likely to become cheaper over time, much cheaper in some cases, as the oil companies try to gross as much as possible out of their remaining production. There will be no point to keeping oil in the ground when the technologies it is being used for are being legislated out of existence.
The funny part about this too is that all the people that are upset that I'm critical of inflation and like to call me a Republican or Trump guy, were the same ones supporting the massive money printing while Trump was President. I was calling him out for it! I was one of the few people warning about inflation back in 2020 and the negatives of flooding the economy with money while pretty much everyone was supporting Trump passing those massive stimulus bills. I was the extreme outlier that was critical of Trump. I would actually argue that the inflation we are seeing right now is a result of the money that was created during Trump's term. With that said however, I fully expect Biden too dump even way more money into the markets before his term is over.
Increasing current oil production while developing/progressing more sustainable sources for the future
You've come to the wrong place if you're seeking an apology... or even a bit of contrition. These mooks still think Hunter's laptop was a Russian hoax...
Ukraine wasn't a client state. It's the disinformation about the relationship right now that is out of control. There is zero chance that the US was outsourcing bio/chem weapons to the Ukrainians. That's laughable on the face of it. Why? Because you really think the Ukraine would be sitting on those weapons now if they were available?