The Impotence of Drill, Baby, Drill
America produces a lot of oil.
It doesn’t matter.
President Trump explained to us that all he had to do was bring down the price of oil, and all other prices would follow, like humpty-dumpty. Too bad he started a war that inevitably raised oil prices...
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
US gasoline prices:
A brief note as the war winds down/intensifies/God knows
Donald Trump talked a lot of nonsense about energy during the 2024 campaign. But in fairness, some of the underlying premises behind “drill, baby, drill” were accepted by many people. At the very least, it was widely presumed that U.S. self-sufficiency in oil would protect America from disruptions in oil supplies overseas.
But that presumption was wrong. America produces a lot of oil, substantially more than we consume. Although we import some oil, mainly from Canada and Mexico , while exporting even more oil, mainly from Texas, we buy hardly any oil from the Persian Gulf. Yet the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused U.S. prices of oil products to soar. Self-sufficiency in oil has done nothing at all to insulate the U.S. economy from Middle East chaos.
Now, we should have expected that. Oil is traded on world markets, so the price is more or less the same everywhere. The two most widely watched barometers of oil prices are the West Texas Intermediate price in the United States and Brent crude in Europe. America exports more oil than it imports, while Europe is a massive net importer. Yet the two prices have moved in tandem over the years:
Some people have been shocked at the way U.S. gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices have soared over the past few days. But they shouldn’t have been surprised.
So does U.S. oil production give Americans no insulation at all from world market events? Not under the current rules of the game.
It could be different. In the 1970s the U.S. imposed price controls on domestically produced oil and partially insulated consumers from global oil shocks. Over time, however, these price controls led to shortages — the infamous gasoline lines. When price controls were lifted, they were replaced by a windfall profits tax intended to capture part of the gains experienced by oil companies. This tax was repealed after prices plunged in the mid-1980s.
Whatever you think of these past policies, however, they took place in a political environment in which corporations and moneyed interests in general had far less power than they do now. It’s almost inconceivable that 1970s-type price controls or excess profits taxes would be imposed today. So US prices of gasoline and other oil products reflect world crude prices, and the fact that America produces a lot of oil doesn’t matter at all.
If anything, US families are more exposed to Middle East chaos than their counterparts in, say, Europe or Japan, mainly because we drive bigger, less fuel-efficient cars.
The people who decided to begin this war should have seen this coming. All the evidence, however, suggests that they didn’t.
Whatever
Tags
Who is online
86 visitors
I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so. I told ya so.
Why I Don't Speak American
And why it's a problem that Pete Hegseth says he does
At a summit with Latin American leaders over the weekend, Marco Rubio said a few words in Spanish. Then Pete Hegseth popped up to say “I only speak American.” And that’s why we’re facing disaster in the Persian Gulf.
This is a video.
Right before that Trump said Rubio was good because he spoke Spanish and then Trump said to the representatives of the Latin American countries something like "I don't speak your damn language" It did seem like he was trying to be humorous.
Shortly thereafter he called on Hegseth to speak and of course he parroted Trump.
That's ok. Many of us don't speak HIS DAMN language
Trump Tells Latin American Leaders 'I'm Not Learning Your Damn …
1 day ago · President Donald Trump told Latin American leaders during his 'Shield of the Americas' summit that he doesn't plan on 'learning your damn language '