The Charts That Prove Obama Doesn’t Set Gas Prices

The Charts That Prove Obama Doesn’t Set Gas Prices

The public understands Obama isn’t to blame for high gasoline prices, as recent polls make clear. Even the Wall Street Journal and Cato Institute agree: “It’ s not Obama’s fault that crude oil prices have increased.”

But as the NY Times pointed out Sunday, facts don’t stop the GOP:

The issue of gas prices has not only been misunderstood but thoroughly distorted by relentless ideological spin from industry and its political allies, mainly Republican. Hardly a day goes by that some industry cheerleader somewhere — be it Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana or Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma — does not flay President Obama for driving up oil prices by denying the industry access to oil and gas deposits and imposing ruinous environmental rules. Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said last week that Mr. Obama should be held “fully responsible for what the American public is paying for gasoline.”

The Times put together some great charts using EIA data. They make clear 1) oil prices are set on a global market and 2) the strategy of “Drill, Baby, Drill” adopted by the GOP and President Obama has succeeded at increasing production and decreasing dependency on foreign oil — but it has unsurprisingly failed at affecting global markets.

United States oil production is at it's highest in decades, and our consumption is at it's lowest in decades. But our domestic supply and demand has little to do with oil prices anymore, and that's just what TPTB wanted. Wall Street's biggest banks work hand in hand with Big Oil to manipulate the prices and affect prices not just here in the US but the world over.

"Drill baby drill" solves nothing, as a report cited in the article above goes on to explain, that even with "full offshore drilling", that by 2020 " there is no impact on gasoline prices", and by 2030, "US gasoline prices would be three cents a gallon lower." (the report is from the EIA, Energy Information Administration, called the Impact of Limitations on Access to Oil and Natural Gas Resources in the Federal Outer Continental Shelf (eia.doe.gov)

The article also cites a NY Times op-ed:

With developing countries like China and India demanding more petroleum, prices are likely to stay high. That’s reality — no matter what the Republican spinners say. Only a rounded policy mix of greater fuel efficiency, steady production and the aggressive development of alternative fuels can protect American consumers against what could be even greater price shocks in the years ahead.

Big Oil is simply not interested in meeting domestic US demands, when there are far better profits to be made by exporting oil to China, Japan, and India. We married our oil prices to their demand, and left the profiteers in charge of our energy policies.

Great thread and explanation.

But you have to understand that the target audience you are trying to reach is not logical and doesn't care about facts. They have an irrational hate for Obama.

If anything, they will use this information to try to claim that Obama has raised the gas prices world wide. Honestly...I bet someone claims that somewhere in this thread.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Its sad that people need charts to have this explained to them, but I blame the MSM.

The price of oil isn't increasing. The dollar is decreasing (worldwide) due to inflation. That explains why the Bush/Obama tag team result in higher gas prices.

Duh..

I don't believe anyone is dumb enough to believe the president sets gas prices. His policies will have no impact on the prices in the near term.

That said, the democrats have blocked drilling for over a decade. In that time supplies and demand would have stabilized long before foreign demand would have soaked up supply as we have today.

The price will not come down soon and it will be the nail in the coffin for Obamarama. And that's a good thing. I'll take higher gas prices just to get rid of this incompetent, anti-American socialist. Small price to pay :

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
Great thread and explanation.

But you have to understand that the target audience you are trying to reach is not logical and doesn't care about facts. They have an irrational hate for Obama.

If anything, they will use this information to try to claim that Obama has raised the gas prices world wide. Honestly...I bet someone claims that somewhere in this thread.

But! But! If only Obama would prove his citizenship, repeal Obamacare, and get baptized, the oil prices would drop! Duh.

roflmao
you americans getting all jumpy from "gas" prices hitting $4 a gallon
im british and its double that here!
we pay mega super hyper tax on it though...
maybe you guys should hire european/asian engineers at your car plants
why have big beasty v8 that weighs 4 tonnes and barely hits 100mph???
maybe if your cars were more efficient you wouldnt give a damn about prices
you guys got it good just use your head and drive an import

if you guys drive more efficient cars
then you buy less gas
then obama can tax it more without a fuss
then your country can pay its damn debt!!
until thats payed you are a financial apocolypse waiting to happen

reply to post by Insearchofthetruth1987


You're absolutely right. In this country we love huge gas guzzlers. It's just the way it is. It has gotten a bit better over the last decade with the addition of the hybrid cars and more economical cars and standards, but as a whole, Americans want giant SUV type vehicles that suck gas. In a perfect world Americans would be intelligent. Sadly we have Rick Santorum and Mitt Romeny offering to save the day. Yep, we're dumb.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Great thread.

But I refuse to believe it. After all, it's easiest for me to blame the guy with different colored skin in the White House than wall street or oil tycoons. ANd should he ever attempt to do anything about it....i'm just going to label him a marxist communist Kenyan.

Now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to debate on which of the 1000 Obama birth certificate threads i'm going to comment on. Decisions, decisions.

----------------

S/F my friend....great job as always!

I'm not surprised to see ignorance when it comes to gas pricing. Two things are never mentioned as the 'cause' because to do so would demonstrate intelligence rather then one's ability to regurgitate MSNBC bumper sticker answers to real issues.

One: Oil Bourse - look it up as it is not the real point of my post.

Two: Oil is the same price it has been for some time - Relative To the Price of Gold. This means, for the laymen, the price of gas is a function of the printing of fiat currency. All of you jackasses who championed the stimulus were well aware (based on your excellent education) that such actions waters down the value of the fiat currency. Now, all the educated, also know that Rome or Pre-war Germany inflation in America today would lead to chaos; but we must have stimulus shouted the plebes! Sooooooooooooooo, oil was introduced some time back to keep real time, in country inflation in check. Yes, ever noticed how oil, up until recently was only available in dollars - the petro dollar? Ever notice how oil producing countries are relatively poor? The reason is they keep the fiat currency used to buy oil from going back into circulation which would make your money worth even less! Why do they do this, if they don't they wind up like Iraq, so they play along keeping "cash" out of circulation after it is printed - basically burning it rather then spend it. The petro-dollar system is falling apart, three rampages of printing fiat currency are straining the system. The system has other fail safe mechanisms built it: not enough refineries, speculator blame game, green movement, suv blaming and so on. Fact is all that PR is a rouse to cover up fiat currency printing which is largely done to make war weapons to kill the enemies of fiat currency.

Conclusion for all you educated people: High gas prices are the ONLY reason this country is not Zimbabwe

post removed because the user was engaged in partisan political trolling

reply to post by bladerunner44

That said, the democrats have blocked drilling for over a decade. In that time supplies and demand would have stabilized long before foreign demand would have soaked up supply as we have today.

What a load of BS. This is one of the bigger lies the wing-nuts love to spread about Democrats. While they don't hand out offshore drilling permits like candy the way Republicans do, they do issue them faster than the oil companies can take advantage of them.

The only time Obama hasn't issued permits is during the Gulf spill moratorium, but since then he has issued more than 300 permits, just in the Gulf alone. For the Pacific OCS region, more than 470.

Status of Gulf of Mexico Well Permits
Pacific Leasing Information

Shallow water: To date, 117 new shallow water well permits have been issued since the implementation of new safety and environmental standards on June 8, 2010. Just 8 of these permits are currently pending; with 7 having been returned to the operator for more information.

Deepwater permits requiring subsea containment: Since an applicant first successfully demonstrated containment capabilities in mid-February 2011, we have approved 332 of these permits for 99 unique wells, with 26 permits pending, and 23 permits returned to the operator with requests for additional information, particularly information regarding containment.

Deepwater activities not requiring subsea containment: Since the implementation of new safety and environmental standards, 63 of these permits have been approved, with 1 permit pending, and 1 permit returned to the operator with requests for additional information. These activities include water injection wells and procedures using surface blowout preventers.

Nearly every permit submitted is approved. It's a myth that a lack of permits is 'constricting' offshore drilling. The EIA, as I linked to above, has issued a report that offshore drilling permits have no impact on the cost of gas - that even if every single permit submitted was approved, that it would not be until 2030 before you would see a 3 cent drop in the cost of a gallon of gas.

Big Oil is just using this myth to lock up all the leases and permits now, so they can wheel and deal them in the future for their own profit.

US production is at a 40-year high (since 1970), and consumption at it's lowest since 2003. Yet that has no effect on crude prices. What do France, Germany, Spain, England, and the United States all have in common that their oil prices should all be so married? The banks, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, that speculate on oil, and the same oil companies that control it's production.

The price of gasoline in the USA has nothing to do with Obama, it has EVERYTHING to do with supply and demand on the world stage.

China and India have been using gasoline at levels unprecedented in history, and US consumption is also increasing. As demand goes up, supply goes down, and prices increase.

Simple economics 101. Nothing to do with Obama.

I'm gonna laugh if any of these GOP candidates get elected President and have to spin to the FOX NEWS faithful why gasoline prices are still increasing on their watch.

Fact-Free Fox News Blames Gas Prices On Obama



Too bad for FOX "news", the facts stand in their way.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


good thread, thanks for spreading the word. i'm actually quite shocked that so many people who visit this forum believes Obama has so much more power than he really does.

Originally posted by babybunnies
I'm gonna laugh if any of these GOP candidates get elected President and have to spin to the FOX NEWS faithful why gasoline prices are still increasing on their watch.

that's their game! the fox news faithful are faithfully waiting for the gop candidates to save them from obama. that's all we really need to know about them

reply to post by Insearchofthetruth1987


That's because the UK doesn't have natural oil their production of oil comes from contracts on oil exploration so going into another country to drill is expensive, remember Alaska and the gulf of Mexico plus the other areas in northern Europe.

Here in the US the US have natural oil that is in the hands of private contracts including the UK that is why we Americans can complain about prices because we do have oil in our lands.

Now as to the topic, it is true that Obama or any president doesn't set the prices of oil, but because America is an oil producing country it could have legislation to protect the prices that we the tax payer and voters pay at the pump, but rather let the private oil barons use their dirty money and government subsidies to pay for speculators to boost the future prices.

We live in a corporate dictatorship in America and control of oil prices is one of the reasons why we the people get screw for profits.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


The thing that kills me about Fox News blaming obama for gas prices is that they constantly state.. "Gas was only 1.70 a gallon when Bush left office!"

Well yeah, it was....because the economy was in freefall!!! That was literally the only good thing happening at the time for regular folks....but it was the result of endless countries falling into recession.

Lol...i guess they are going to give Bush credit for the millions who lost their homes...or their values in homes?

What a bunch of BS.

reply to post by David9176


Keeping in mind that prior to that economy freefall, gas was over $4 a gallon under Bush.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Exactly. I remember it hitting 4.30 a gallon here before the collapse. And at that time, you had many on Fox News stating that it wasn't Bush's fault...including O'Reilly.

I've seen the video numerous times lately of him saying that...unfortunately can't find the vid at the moment.