Boots & Sabers

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1821, 20 Jun 22

Biden’s Thinking About Gas Gimmicks

Our president is trying to replace a coherent American energy policy with gimmicks to ease the political damage to himself. It is also worth noting that he is speaking to reporters about Americans’ pain at the pumps from… the beach. Again.

“I hope to have a decision based on the data I’m looking for by the end the week,” Biden told reporters by the seaside in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, when asked whether he was considering backing a gas tax holiday.

Such a pause in the 18.3-cent-per-gallon federal tax would require Congress to act, and there has been little traction among lawmakers on the idea so far. But the administration is eager to find areas of relief for American consumers contending with skyrocketing gas prices as the summer begins. Monday’s nationwide average for gas was just under $5 per gallon.

Biden said he is also weighing whether to back sending Americans gas rebate cards: “That’s part of what we’re considering, that’s part of the whole operation,” he said.

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1821, 20 June 2022

16 Comments

  1. Mar

    You think the big doofus cares about climate change and high gas prices?
    Senile Joe spends almost every weekend in Delaware, riding in a gas guzzling pollution creating Air Force 1.

  2. MjM

    Biden said he is also weighing whether to back sending Americans gas rebate cards.

    Which would take hundred$ of million$ and year or more to set up / implement. ‘Prolly work out as well the the Obozo Insurance web work and be just as safe as all those mail-in ballots. He gonna force the retailers / cards reader / oil company folks to pay for the costs to implement, too? Yeah. That’ll lower gas prices.

    And he criticized the companies for cutting back on refining. “I want an explanation from them on why they aren’t refining more oil,” he said.

    Here’s your explanation, dumbass: You are a dumbass. An ignoramus of the first degree. A lying plagiarist yes man with zero economic or business knowledge or acumen who’s only life experience is sucking at the public tit for 55 years.

    Well, that’s an explanation for him.

    Seven refineries permanently shut down in 2020/2021 – some for financial crashes, 2 old&storm damaged, others retooling for “renewable diesel” (which, btw, can only ship via OTR or rail) That represents a production loss of around 1.2 million brl/day. (No doubt BJ would think Big Oil can just fire up the machinery tomorrow and add 400% to the capacity of a 265,00 brl/day refinery to cover that loss, and start sending out thousands of gasoline tanker trucks by next week).

    With what’s left, output has been creeping up for more than a year. Nationally, utilization is running at 93%. In the Gulf region it’s 95%. The East Coast region is at 98%. The kicker being if refining was at 100% but without storage capacity increases and transportation increases the gas ain’t going anywhere.

    And it would still be 1.2 million barrels short everyday.

  3. jonnyv

    MJM, so what you are saying is that no matter WHAT the Biden administration does, he can’t help the cost of gas in any significant way (dollars not cents).

    My favorite thing is when internet people don’t think that the administration knows EVERY discussion point they put out there. I guaranty that the Biden administration has all that (and more) information about what is causing the backup in fuel production behind the scenes.

  4. penquin

    > so what you are saying is that no matter WHAT the Biden administration does, he can’t help the cost of gas in any significant way

    Earlier it was stated that Biden is 100% responsible for the price of gasoline….and that seems to be a common thought among some circles.

  5. dad29

    Some part of the cost of gasoline is based on ‘future expectations’ for that commodity. Since Bai-Den made it clear BEFORE the election, and has implemented several policies AFTER the election designed to reduce both well-output and refining, the price floats up. The Arabs, the Indonesians, and the Russkies all know this and are perfectly happy to help Bai-Den begin The Transition of which he and his Cabinet Communists speak lovingly–and often.

    You will note that the price of gasoline (and crude) began its rocket-ship ride immediately after the election.

    But go ahead, pretend that Biden is not ‘solely’ responsible. Demonstrate your lack of understanding once again.

  6. MjM

    JV, as dumb as BJ: “ so what you are saying is …”

    Read the last line in my first post again. Try to comprehend the difference between what is and why it is.

    Maybe, just maybe, instead of subsidizing useless Chinese slave labor solar panels a few dollars could be found to help restart financially strapped and damaged refineries right here in the good ‘ol USA.

    Of course, that won’t happen under this braindead administration, and no one in their right mind is going to spend their own money – or invest in new – just to be a bullseye.

    Maybe, just maybe, ease off on the millions of lines of regulatory demands that cover the industries involved, from trucking to pipelines to exploration to pumping.

    No. Can’t. Oil (and NG and Coal and Hydro and Nuclear) is EVIL, don’tcha know.

    JV loves failure: “ My favorite thing is …”

    So they just aren’t telling the boss. Great strategy.

    Did wonders with all that “behind the scenes” baby formula knowledge, too.

    Yes, this is a group, from transportation ‘expert’ Butthead to energy ‘expert’ GrannyHolm to the plagiarizing expert himself, that thinks the solution to all our problems is for everyone to just run right out and buy a $50,000 e-car.

    They are so full of “behind the scenes” knowledge I’m sure you’ll guarantee that they know that that could not actually be done because there is an e-car shortage because the e-cars cars aren’t being produced because of the chip shortage.

  7. jonnyv

    MJM. I would be fine eliminating solar subsidies if they completely eliminated oil and coal ones as well. Fossil fuels got 20 BILLION in subsidies in 2021 (Renewable energy got much more). And much of the renewable credits went to the same companies that run the oil industry because they have started to shift their focus to things like biofiew and renewable energies. Personally I think we should increase the subsidies for end users on things like solar and wind to encourage additional growth and push down the use of fossil fuels. In fact I have a meeting tonight with someone to talk about solar for my home. I think it will be too expensive of an upfront cost considering we only spend about $115 in electricity each month on average.

    I personally don’t want the government to give oil MORE money to open up refineries. We give them enough money as it is. The companies are NOT financially strapped (making RECORD profits), they just don’t want to invest money into an industry that is declining slowly for fear of not getting they ROI out of it. I think that I read that it was going to be something like 1B to reopen one of the refineries, if they chose to. The oil companies are making multi BILLION dollar profits each quarter. But they are bound by fiduciary duty to do what is best for their stock holders, and that ISNT invest in a refinery that may not be used fully or needed at all in 10 years. YAY CAPITALISM! Maybe the price of gas should be $2 a gallon, or maybe $5 a gallon. Who is to say? The invisible hand of the free market is clearly deciding.

    Lets open a Nuclear plant. Lets do it in West Bend or Waukesha. Want to bet that suddenly those freedom loving red areas of our state suddenly become NIMBY’ers.

    And if you think that Biden doesn’t know the entire scenario, you are out of your mind. What a politician says in front of the camera is usually only 1% of the story vs. what the administration knows. Just ask Seditious ‘Mr Fake Electoral Ballots” Russian Ron Johnson. Never trust what any politician says in front of a camera, at best it is only half the story.

  8. Mar

    Gee, Jonny, I do agree with you that we, taxpayers, should not subsidize private companies, unless it is absolutely needed for national security.
    As far as nuclear reactors, I don’t mind if they built one where I live, but then, I live in the desert and probably not enough water. I would rather have that than a windmill farm. Or a solar panel farm.
    As far as Ron Johnson, he denies he said that. But when you listen to NPR and watch the View, this is what you are told, your talking points, right, Johnny?

  9. jonnyv

    No Mar. I watched the actual hearing where his CURRENT chief of staff asked if Ronny could hand Pence some “alternative” electorate documents. Something his staff just “got” from someone they don’t know. But they knew what it was, why was it MI & WI? They knew it was fake? And they STILL wanted to pass it on to the VP? Remember, only believe half of what a politician says in public. I don’t trust Ron Johnson either way, but this is ridiculous and shady.

    Mar. If I lived in a desert, I would rather have wind or solar. Makes more sense than Nuclear. But would love to see nuclear be more accepted in other areas.

  10. Mar

    Words

  11. jonnyv

    Like I said earlier. I believe about 50% of that story from Johnson. Sure, he didn’t “create” it. But you are telling me his chief of staff somehow got it from a staff, and never TOLD Johnson he was in possession of it. And that the chief of staff took it on his OWN ACCORD to try and arrange an exchange with the VP without notifying Johnson?

    I believe that he and his staff didn’t “create” it. But he clearly knew what he had. And he clearly wanted to give it to the VP. Johnson is not believable here. There is no way his staff tries to pass that on to the VP without FIRST running it by Johnson.

    I never thought I would say this, but thank goodness we had someone with SOME sort of spine to NOT try and accept these. I don’t agree with Pence’s general policies or most of his beliefs, but when push came to shove, he stood up for democracy. He gets points for that.

  12. Merlin

    Alternate slates of electors are a matter of routine when either side is anticipating objections at the joint session in which the VP opens and counts the electoral votes. What’s new here is the Democrat characterization of the process as somehow being a coup rather than standard practice. Democrats used the very same process after the 2016 election; objecting to the electoral votes of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Wyoming, and Mississippi. Dems had alternate slates of electors ready to go should their objections be upheld. Then-Vice President Biden denied each objection without debate on procedural grounds (no objection had a Senator in support of it).

    The 2020 Republican objections for Arizona and Pennsylvania had support from both a House rep and a Senator, but no bicameral support beyond that. The Georgia objection originally had Senator support, but that support (Loefler) was withdrawn citing the Capitol riot as the reason. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada all had a House Rep objection, but no Senator support. Then-Vice President Pence denied four objections on the very same procedural grounds as Biden in 2016, and the Arizona and Pennsylvania objections shortly thereafter.

    Filing an objection without your alternate list of electors would be rather pointless. The lists are not fake or illegal and Dems will almost certainly avail themselves of the very same process they’re demonizing today again in 2024.

    Funny how nobody seemed particularly concerned about whether political pressure was put on Slow Joe in ’17, especially given how contagious Arkancide has always been, but TDS wasn’t quite so prevalent back then.

  13. penquin

    >As far as Ron Johnson, he denies he said that.

    Were you actually in the room when he denied it? Or is that what you were told by some radio or TV program and is now your talking point? Please clarify…thanks.

  14. penquin

    >I believe about 50% of that story from Johnson.

    And as his latest “Can’t talk! On the phone!” incident proves, he ain’t even good at lying.

  15. dad29

    Let’s get a couple of things straight. NUKES need scads of cooling water. West Bend/Waukesha don’t have what it takes, although there was some consideration of Koshkonong a few decades ago.

    Happy to hear you only believe half of Evers’ bullshit! WHICH half?

    The usual “IGNORE history” crap about the alternate electors–and for that matter, about Hillary’s 4-year kvetch and bitch about losing in ’16, including providing alternate electors and creating–from nothing–a fable about the Russians. Which half of THAT did you believe?

    Small refiners and refineries went bust when demand dropped off the ledge; thin margins/old equipment couldn’t pull them through the Chinese Communist flu. While Exxon made money in ’21 and ’22, they lost $22BN in ’20–and they invest far more than their earnings (with borrowed/stock funds) to find and refine petroleum AND to produce biodiesel.

    Small refineries cannot blend corn liquor into gasoline, thus they have to purchase ‘credits’ from the Big Guys–another drain on the little guys’ cash reserves.

    20 years or more of regulatory constraint? Not Enough Fuel. Bush was part of the problem, Obama was worse, and Biden–who can f**k things up with the best, well,……hope you like cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and long walks, pal!

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