Gasoline prices are higher than they have been in a very long time. Paul Krugman writes:
There are three things you need to know about gasoline prices. First, the price of crude oil — the stuff that comes out of the ground — is set in a global market, not country by country. Second, fluctuations in the price of gasoline, which is refined from crude, overwhelmingly reflect fluctuations in that global price. Third, U.S. policy has little effect on world oil prices, and virtually none at all in the short run — say, the 14 months that Biden has been in office.
About crude prices: A number of countries export oil: Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf producers, Venezuela, Norway, various others and, in normal times, Russia. Where they ship the oil depends on the price they can get. This more or less levels prices around the world: Any country with above-average prices will attract extra shipments, driving prices down; any country with below-average prices will see imports fall off, driving prices up.
For those blaming Biden for rising prices here, I regret to inform you that he is not the prime minister of Britain, or the German chancellor, or …
The Conservatives are making the same arguments in Canada. Take a look at this ad from Pierre Poilievre. It's the same line. Justin Trudeau is responsible for high gasoline prices.
Like the Republicans, the Conservatives think we're stupid.
Image: You Tube
18 comments:
Judging by how many of my neighbours blamed Trudeau for not getting us vaccines sooner, a significant number of us is stupid. I noticed many of these neighbours sporting Con lawn signs last fall. So I can hardly blame PP for running his ad - if you're going to lead the stupid you better know which buttons to push.
Cap
Unfortunately, a lot of us are stupid. We've recently had a demonstration of that stupidity regarding vaccine mandates in Ottawa, Cap.
Unfortunately Owen the masses have been conditioned to believe that 'market forces' rule the market place thus we have 'Big Oil' raping and ravaging our pocket books and declaring massive and obscene profits due to increases in the price of a barrel.
These profits must be captured by the government and used to finance consumer rebates.
No one but no one raises oil prices but the OIL Companies Mr. Poilievre. How many Canadians know that Exxon Mobile owns Imperial oil. Why do Canadians not know this…It’s buried within all the rubble of information and one must go digging through to find it Mr. Poilievre. That ad is stomach turning Mr Poilievre. Anyong
A little edit needed:
Like the Republicans, the Conservatives know we're stupid.
Wherever Big Oil is in the driver's seat, Ben, corruption is rampant.
And as your stomach turns, Anyong, remember that Mr. Poilievre wants to be prime minister.
One further edit, PoV: "Some of us are stupid."
Mr Gray, my hope is you have come to a conclusion as to where my thoughts are regarding Mr. Poilievre from my comments. Yes, Mr. Peppy wants to be Prime Minister at Canadians expense. Who needs to be educating Canadians as to what is actually going on in this country. For example, Alberta Does Not send tax money directly to Quebec over Equalization Payments. That beat goes on and on. Last Feb., the Federal Government gave Alberta 21.2 billion dollars. We are at present, running in the black. And, in order to be heard and contribute to the upcoming Cons Convention, a donation of 300, 000 must be had. Oh buy the buy, the Liberals continually cause my stomach to turn as well. Anyong
I suspect a lot of Canadians feel as you do, Anyong.
So
When the NDP do gain a foothold then business withdraws their cooperation making them look bad because they are more pro people prosperity than pro business profit?
Are we going to have to admit
that the fusion of state and corporations
or actually corporation control over state control is fascism?
and our sham democracy is just a façade to continue corporate interests?
Can we see now world events as just market manipulation?
Kill a few here, wreck some stuff there and raise prices everywhere
Asking for a friend
My long held belief
Is that our politics has the integrity of Lucha libre or World Wrestling Association
Entertainment , employment for the handicapped, diversion for corporations.
The Romans called it "Bread and Circuses," lungta.
For example Alberta does not should have been, Albertans think they send money direct to Quebec for Equalization Payments.
Please initial your next comment, Anon.
Let's be honest: Krugman gets paid to run cover for the DNC, and that's excatly what he's doing here.
However, to be fair, the Bidenettes do not own all of the responsibility for this mess. To show who owns what, there are several very important elements that should be included in any discussion of this "post."
Most important is the multi-trillion dollar spike in the creation of "currencies" which has taken place the world over since March 2020 and the advent of the War of The 'Rona$. Lest people forget that bad money drives out the good. And when governments and banks unleash that sort of a tsunami, it crashes onshore somewhere and floods out whatever it will. The worst of this disaster occurred under Trump and Powell, beginning in September with the REPO crisis in September of 2019 and culminating in a full-blown liquidity crisis in the global banking systems beginning in early March of 2020; but this epic fail was conveniently concealed from the public by the initiation of the War of the Rona$ a couple of weeks later.
Add to that storm the many ensuing supply chain interruptions in the name of the 'Rona$. These both reduced supply and bottle-necked the chains of delivery, thus producing shortages which always bring on price spikes in a market system.
Further, the recent embargoing of exports from a top oil producer, Russia, has also created a fear of shortages which then results in a premium being imposed on the market trades.
And lastly, the freezing of all new oil/gas permits for both exploration and development in the US, as well as the cancellation of the approval of the Keystone pipeline have forced market makers to factor those limitations.
Will leave it to better minds to determine who owns responsibilty for what.
The responsibility for all of this goes way beyond the 14 months of the Biden presidency, Hal. There was always going to be a crunch as the world shifted to non-fossil fuels. That crunch has begun.
Don't know if the "crunch" has begun, but always expected oil companies to take one more swing at accumulating as much money as possible before people switch to alternative sources of energy.
But then again I remember the 1970s and the rise in prices, the long lines and the sudden dumping of large vehicles to smaller more gas efficient ones. We were told there was an oil shortage. No, what we had was oil tankers in the ocean heading in one direction, finding out they could get more money in another port and changing course. They went where they could get the most money. This is simply a repeat of the 1970s. We adjusted to higher oil/gas prices and life moved on.
I remember about 20 years ago people shouting we're running out of oil, we have to do something. We need more fuel efficient vehicles. Well here we are 20 years later and we're still swimming in oil.
We are always going to need oil because it is used to make all matter of things. Do we need it to run our vehicles, not every where. Does it pollute the enviornment, yes it does. Does it have to be so expensive right now? No, its just a big money grab and PP can say what he wants but its not Trudeau or Biden's fault.
In B.C. some want Horgan ot drop the carbon/gas taxes. If they haven't figured it out, those taxes are used to run the government and if they haven't checked lately the country has been keeping people afloat with all sorts of benefits from the government. In B.C. we have had floods which wiped out towns, farms and we had fires which burnt on town to the ground. All of that has to be rebuilt and its the government is going to have to pay, so a reduction in taxes is simply not going to work.
Oil will never go away, e.a.f. But we'll use a lot less of it.
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