and even outright deny that price increases are occurring. At first, the administration was content to blame the pandemic, even as the virus and most pandemic-related restrictions began to fade in early 2021. Despite prices being at or near record lows just weeks before Biden took office and began his assault on the energy
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden latched on to the war as another excuse for rising costs, apparently hoping that Americans would forget that gas prices had already crossed $3.50 per gallon and were trending upward before Russia fired the first shot. Nonethe- less, in March of 2022, Biden denied
nent’s needs and a dangerous depen- dency on fossil fuel imports from other potentially hostile countries — namely, natural gas from Russia. As Russia cut supplies following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the rest of Europe scrambled to meet demand, sending prices to astronomical levels.
US Average Retail Gas Prices US dollar per gallon
Mid-2022 $4.60
Russia Invades Ukraine $3.62
$6.00
+27%
President Biden Inauguration $2.46
$4.80
+47%
$3.60
$2.40
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Source: Weekly Retail Gasoline and On-Highway Diesel Prices | ycharts.com
industry, the White House contin- ued to trumpet the line that it was “supply chain problems” that suddenly caused prices to rise. Biden also targeted energy compa- nies themselves and even gas station operators, most of whom are small business owners already struggling to get by. In a tweet this past July, Biden ordered them to “bring down the price you are charging at the pump,” paying no mind to the fact that gas stations already charge the lowest price they can without losing money. “Do it now,” he demanded.
being able to do anything about costs, telling reporters that “Russia’s responsible.”
By August, businesses were turning off lights and cutting operating hours just to be able to afford electric bills. As the weather turned cold, many families simply could not afford to turn on the heat. Some experts have predicted that a typical European household’s monthly energy bill in 2023 could be as high as $530 — a more than 300 percent increase from 2021 figures. Under the Biden administration, both of these problems are now also looming for the United States. As gas prices soared this year, Biden resorted to begging OPEC and then
The Danger Ahead
As bad as things have been over the past two years, the situation in Europe now provides a picture of how much worse they could get if the Biden administration continues down the disastrous path it is on. Over the course of the past year, it became increasingly clear that Europe has two major problems: a severe over- reliance on renewables that cannot come close to meeting the conti-
continued on page 30
28 • AMAC Magazine
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