Ted Cruz & the price of gas

dorankj
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Great point! You sure showed me.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

Post by mister_coffee »

I remember somebody talking about how people need to take responsibility for their own choices. Who was that?
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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I’m sure everyone paying these prices will understand it’s their own fault, go with that angle!
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Yes, indeedy.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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By Mark Sumner — June 9, 2022
So far in 2022, national gas prices have averaged $3.77 for the year. That number is almost certain to go up; current prices are hovering around $4.70. Efforts to restrict Russia’s access to the global oil market are creating a shortfall that currently has oil trading at around $120 per barrel. But no matter how many times somber newsreaders talk about these record highs, the truth is, we’ve been here before—and not that long ago.

There have been several points in the past where the price of gas was well above the equivalent of $4 in current cash. That includes 2008, when the average over the whole year was $4.32, and 2012, when it was $4.47. That’s not a one-week high—in both years, inflation-adjusted prices were above the current level for brief periods—that’s an average across the whole year.





00:00
00:47
Here’s a graphic you’re unlikely to have seen on the news when the Very Serious People are making vague statements about how President Biden’s policies have affected oil prices.

graph of oil production
Oil production crashed under Trump after years of steady increases under Obama
The greatest single drop in U.S. oil production in history happened under Donald Trump. This came even as Trump was chopping away environmental regulations and delaying higher requirements for automobile mileage. It happened in spite of Trump authorizing pipelines and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and opening up national parks to exploitation. It happened because Trump so mismanaged the economy under the pandemic that not even his favorite industry could avoid taking a nose dive.

Trump’s handling of the economy was so chaotic that it created a disruption in oil production from which the industry has still not recovered. That’s something that both Republicans and the media pretend never happened.

Since Trump left office, U.S. production has gone up, not down. The fact that prices were increasing before Russia’s invasion is explained by two simple facts: 1) Speculators were already doing what they do—speculating—by guessing that Russia was going to invade, and 2) Joe Biden’s economic policies were driving up growth in the U.S. generating a rising demand for oil.

In addition to driving the economy off yet another Republican cliff, Trump contributed to those prices at the pump in another big way. President Obama had put in place fuel efficiency guidelines that required 5% increases each year through 2026. Under Obama, manufacturers would have been required to reach 54.5 mpg efficiency for both cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025. Current efficiency requirements would be 48 mpg.

But as soon as he reached office, Trump began the process of rolling back those requirements. It became official in 2020, but the Obama requirements were never applied by the Trump Department of Transportation under Elaine Chao (Mitch McConnell’s wife). Under Trump, automakers had until 2026 to reach just 32 mpg. Over the course of his four years in the White House, the requirements for light trucks increased just over 1 mpg.


Which helps to explain sad tales like this “empty wallets, empty tanks” story in The Washington Post. The article may not be the most ridiculous thing ever published in the Post, but it’s up there. Especially since it starts out with blaming high gas prices for someone running out of gas while joyriding with seven friends on an ATV (and no, I don’t want to know how you get eight people on an ATV).

The article proceeds with statements like this: “Filling up a tank of gas, depending on the vehicle, can cost more than $100, which is the equivalent of 14 hours of after-tax income for certain low-wage workers.” Yes, it’s certainly possible to do that. At $4.70, a $100 fill-up buys 21 gallons of gas. Cars.com lists eight vehicles with gas tanks above that size, all of which are SUVs or pickups. The list starts with an Audi Q7 with a 22.5-gallon tank and ends with a Ford Super Duty pickup with a whopping 48-gallon tank. Amazing what those low-wage workers are driving these days. Oh, there’s also a Bentley in that group. That explains it.

Then there is this terrible plea for help.

Back in South Texas, Alaniz said fuel prices have forced changes in his commute and college plans. He used to make the roughly 60-mile drive from his family’s ranch near Alice to Corpus Christi, where he attends college, in his Chevy Silverado 2500, a large pickup that he estimates squeaks out 14 mpg on the highway.

Even with a part-time job, the charges have become unbearable. “You’re talking about $60 gives me half a tank,” he said.

So he’s trading in his Chevy for a smaller truck that gets better mileage.

A Silverado 2500 is a “super duty” truck that supposedly starts around $40,000, but with actual dealer prices of upward of $87,000. It’s twice as expensive as a plain vanilla Silverado. College student Alaniz is right in that it averages around 14 mpg, making it one of the least efficient vehicles available to consumers.

This guy isn’t running a construction company or towing cattle to the feedlot. He’s a college kid with a “part-time job.” Who happens to be driving a massively expensive, hugely inefficient truck to commute to classes. It’s not as if the changes Trump made to fuel economy standards really affected this case either, because a 2500 HD isn’t even considered a light-duty truck. It’s so large and heavy that it falls on a completely different schedule—one designed for commercial vehicles.

Highlighting this as an example of how gas prices are affecting America is ludicrous. And it falls right in line with a whole series of silly examples from the Post and other outlets designed to hype the impact of inflation into a disaster that’s somehow the Worst Thing Ever.

There are hundreds of vehicles available that get much better gas mileage and cost much less. The top five hybrid automobiles all average over 50 mpg and all start well under $30,000. Just last week, GM lowered the cost of two models of all-electric vehicles by $6000, with the lower-priced model now $27,000. That puts it on par not with the average new car price (now over $45,000), but with the average price of a used car. With a range of 259 miles, that EV would gobble up a 60-mile commute without an issue—and the cost to drive that 60 miles would be a fraction of what it costs to drag that massive truck to school each day. It seems like the kind of thing a poor college student might want. Of course, it might not provide the proper ego boost of a giant vehicle that weighs in at 6,900 lbs.

Buying massive pickups and SUVs was not just a choice, it was a gamble. People blew a huge amount of money on vehicles that are both very expensive to own and very expensive to operate. They knew that at any moment, gas prices could increase because it has happened time and time again in the past. That they’re now paying for that choice is like saying that someone who bluffed on a bad hand at poker is now having to hand over their chips.

Vladimir Putin is to blame for the gas prices. So is Donald Trump. So is every Republican and every auto executive who, over the years, fought against improvements to fuel efficiency standards, assuring that American roads are filled with massive, inefficient vehicles. All of them contributed to either pushing down the supply or raising the demand for oil, which is why current costs are where they are.

But the people who bought those vehicles are also to blame. It was always a gamble. You knew that.

Published with permission of Daily Kos
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Good quote from your article:

'As noted in the article, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill to “give the president the authority to declare an energy emergency that would make it unlawful to increase gasoline and home energy fuel prices in an ‘excessive’ or exploitative manner. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to punish companies that engage in price gouging.”

Not a single Republican voted for it. Not one. Their response was “drill more” — apparently unconcerned with the fact that our over-heated climate is already causing mega-droughts, wildfires, and species extinction at a stunning and increasing rate.

They may as well have quoted the Mexican banditos’ line about why the “sheep” of American families are being so ruthlessly “sheared” by Big Oil. After all, if there’s no price gouging, no one will be punished. It’s that simple. And what do we have to lose by investigating? Nothing.

Which begs the question: Just whom do these so-called “public servants” actually serve? The sad truth is while Americans are being fleeced by Big Oil all they can say is “that’s just too baaaaaad.”
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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The global crude oil market is worth about $4 trillion at current prices. Interventions in that market large enough to impact prices will have costs on that approximate scale.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Here you go. At bottom of the article the GOP did not vote for a control measure.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/08 ... ain/print/
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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So your injection about Biden canceling Keystone was a distraction. The reason we have high gas prices has nothing to do with Keystone and everything to do with the global markets and the BigOil companies wielding their capitalist power.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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So what?
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Try not to get nasty, instead look for facts. In Keystone, it was just never meant for US consumption.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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YOU get a clue, you idiot! Your side has been insisting that we have ‘global markets’ which is supposedly why Biden can’t ‘flip a switch’ but then you say because that oil was destined for foreign markets we shouldn’t do it? You guys are schizophrenic! And dumb.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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There you go again, Keystone struggled for 12 years to get built and was 1,200 miles short when Biden pulled the plug. The Canadian crude was destined for refining in the Gulf states and then transport to Europe. It never was intended to become a resource for the American markets and in the 12 years while it was getting built it had continual spills and environmental problems and was the subject of numerous lawsuits by property owners.

Get a clue.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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No, I don’t want the government very involved in our energy production (ineptitude and bureaucracy) but if they control, regulate and permit then they very much have blame for where we are today. Biden shut down Keystone XL on day one! You guys for years use government and the courts to control energy production and now you want to sell that it’s not the fault of this Admin.? I don’t think very many are buying your double speak anymore.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

Post by mister_coffee »

dorankj wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:57 am I’m really not sure what you’re even saying but as to picking teams I’m definitely not on yours!
Yes, you sound like someone who expects the government to actively interfere in free markets. Kind of sounds "socialist" to me. Maybe with your America First thing you might need to put "national" in front of it too.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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I’m really not sure what you’re even saying but as to picking teams I’m definitely not on yours!
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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dorankj wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:25 am Wow!, maybe that’s why you get so little compassion from me about your ‘issues’. Boy, the masks are REALLY coming off now!
Ken, anyone with more than two brain cells can figure out that there is a heck of a difference between controlling a deadly disease which we have no natural immunity to and someone who bought a monster Ford F350 that they don't even need and are now stuck paying through the nose for the privilege to drive it.

Also, last I checked we live in a proudly free market economy. Funny how those people who soil their knickers over anything that sounds like "socialism" criticize everybody and their dog for not doing things that sound pretty damned socialistic when it might save them a few bucks. You're either in our you're out. Government's role in a free market is to stomp on grifters and frauds (*cough* *cough* cryptocurrency, blockchain, &c *cough* *cough*) which they honestly do poorly.

Of course, there are "when good markets go bad" arguments you can make in this case. But in order to do anything effective you need to be able to plan years and sometimes decades in advance. No government on earth can react as quickly as global, interconnected markets. And damned few governments can put up enough money to change the direction of those markets in the short term, nor should they want to do so.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Wow!, maybe that’s why you get so little compassion from me about your ‘issues’. Boy, the masks are REALLY coming off now!
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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I find it humorous that so many people think that the presidential phone app has some kind of slider that sets gas prices for the day. Kind of like how in primitive society people believed the king was divine and had the power to make rain fall and crops grow.

Nearly all of what little power a president has over oil production has its impact years in the future.

The hard reality was that as a result of the oil shale and fracking boom of the past twenty years, domestic oil production went so high that it was unprofitable for most companies, who therefore left the business. And investors learned the lesson as well and will punish any company that intends to increase production. Also keep in mind that oil production isn't connected to a master control panel somewhere. It takes time to make the changes necessary to increase production: often many months or even years.

Honestly I am all for higher gas prices. And don't have much compassion for the pain they are causing. The only way people are going to change their behavior is through that pain. And at this point the only way people fifty years from now won't need a submarine to visit Miami is with shock therapy.

And if you bought a monster truck that gets 7mpg or have a 100 mile commute? Those were your own decisions and you took your chances. If you want someone to blame look in the mirror. If mirrors actually reflect your image.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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I guess that’s the difference between us, I try to properly assign blame and hold accountable those who actually cause what is wrong and concerns me. No, Trump didn’t cost me my job and I hold those who actually stormed the capital responsible for their actions. BTW, who is Ray Epps? Might want to watch video of him if you want to see someone incite people.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Wasn't your life was worse under Trump because of Covid? You lost your job. Admittedly not his fault but the way he handled it...
You're right, he was no angel. He only incited an inssurection. Yes, he did.
And you don't rant?
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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You’re ranting! But absolutely YES, my life is worse now then when Trump was in office. I’d certainly take mean tweets and $2 gas, and Trump got several other things right. He spent way too much and I didn’t care for his style, he was no angel (I would never vote him pastor) but his policies and how he handled world problems was pretty spot on.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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Need links as your opinion doesn't hold water. You believe we do not need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuesl. I would think if cared about your children's children or even if you don't have any, you state you care so darn much for babies and children, then you would know that they will be living in a heated up world. That's what the emissions are doing along with Mom Nature being pissed off.
Trump, Cruz, etc. did not set the gas prices. Zip influence as Jim Wright says. Hmm, Trumpie did cozy up to the Saudis.
And there you go again, with name calling-partisen hack.
Please tell me what effective policies you are talking about, especially when it comes to fossil fuels? What was Trumps policy? Pilage and plunder. He was for tar sands extraction. Again, not economical. The Balkans, not economical. They went bust.
Pipeline oil is exported as the article states.
Profits are up for the oil companies as he says. I guess Trump wouldn't let that happen. He said he alone can fix it. He wouldn't have been able to.
Ken, we will always disagree. Is your life really worse off than when Trump was in office? He was President during the lockdown and he didn't do anything about the lockdowns, did he? He was powerless. He alone can fix it. A crock.
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

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No, I think my point is pretty clear and doesn’t need any ‘links’. (That’s your trick)
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Re: Ted Cruz & the price of gas

Post by Rideback »

Could you expand on your opinion with some links to prove your point?
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