A lot of people are blaming the President for high gas prices, and that’s not surprising since his political adversaries are taking advantage of high priced gas to turn voters against him. That’s politics. And that would probably still be happening if a Republican were President right now. Because again, that’s politics.
But the truth is that no president of either party sets the price of gas. And the easiest way to know that is to realize that the last thing a President wants is to be blamed for high gas prices. If they could make gas cheap, or even free, they would.
If you buy a donut from a bakery, the bakery is setting the price of the donut. That’s how free markets work. The bakers are selling donuts for as much over the cost of making them as they think they can sell them for, in high quantities. If enough people stop buying them, or cut back on how much they buy because they’re too expensive, the bakers will lower their prices, if they can. Again, that’s how free markets work. Sellers set prices, buyers either buy or they don’t.
Now, if there was a magic wand that a President, any President from either party, could have waved to lower gas prices, they’d have waved the wand, and then run ads on TV that said “I made gas free, so vote for me”. And the only sensible reason that hasn’t ever happened, is because it can’t. There is no magic wand.
This is just basic logic.
We are just one of many oil producing countries in the world. Even if we just use our own oil, we’re still buying it from companies. We, both individually and collectively as a nation, are the buyers of oil (and thus gas) not the sellers. And just like the price of donuts, it’s the sellers setting the prices. If you want to blame anyone, blame the sellers, because they’re the ones actually setting the prices.
And there IS a quasi-governmental international organization that sets gas prices, which deserves the blame. It’s called OPEC, which is short for “Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries”. Here’s how they describe themselves:
“OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.”
In other words, they’re the oil cartel that sets the “policies” (and thus the prices) of oil and therefore, ultimately, of gas. And they openly admit it.
The President is the head of the Executive branch of our government. He’s not in charge of Congress. Right now Democrats control the White House and Republicans control the Senate, which is the upper house of Congress. And that’s important to understand because if you really want lower gas prices, then the thing to do is to pressure both the highest ranking Democrat in office, AND the highest ranking Republican. Right now that’s President Biden, who’s already getting the pressure, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
It will take unified pressure on OPEC to lower U.S. oil prices, which means we need our government (meaning Republicans and Democrats) to be unified against OPEC. Both sides have to stand to lose politically, and so long as either side has anything to gain from prices being high (like, for instance, making voters mad at the other side) they’ll stay that way.
So, good job putting the pressure on Biden, and the Democrats, America. Now start pressuring McConnell and the Republicans, too.
Or just switch from gas to electric. Which (when you figure the cost of gas plus the payment) is now as affordable as a regular car or truck – or even cheaper. And never worry about the price of gas again! Or at least switch to an E85 compatible vehicle. The more of us who do, the less leverage OPEC has over our economy.
