According to Market Realist writer Kathryn Underwood, "Gasoline prices are one of the key metrics people like to know in order to gauge the health of the economy and manage their finances. The price of gasoline is often blamed on politicians in power, but in reality, gas is priced based on several factors that have little to do with the government."
Still, like it, or not, the four key factors that impact gas prices in the U.S.: 1. The cost of crude oil 2. Refining costs and profits 3. Distribution and marketing costs and profits 4. And of course taxes.
Now for some real eye-opening. U.S. and world oil producers base crude pricing on the world market, mostly controlled by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and mostly by Saudi Arabia (a U.S. ally?) influence.
U.S. oil producers are only so happy to set gas prices based upon foreign markets, even though the U.S. has moved into the #1 spot for production. Meanwhile, huge profits are being tallied, while consumers blame politicians. The rich get richer! In 2020 the U.S. producers became a net petroleum exporter for the first time since 1949.
Goofy former President Trump recently announced he would not become a dictator “Except for Day One,” Trump responded. Trump said on the “Day One” he referred to, he would use his presidential powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Good rhetoric for the Red Hat Trump Goblins, but if the U.S. producers are already exporting oil, wouldn’t that mean for profits for the already fixed oil market and not lower prices for gas?
Of course ,opening the spigots on oil pumping would vastly increase carbon dioxide emissions and have grave effects on climate change and pollution, but hey, it sounds good to the Trump Zombies.
The second part of Goofy Trump’s statement that he would close the border with Mexico is another laugh and a half.
He failed to do so when he was president and promised Mexico would pay for the wall. Yup, never happened, even when the Republicans had the margin in the Senate and House.
Over the last decade, many third world countries, faced with squeezed economics, brutal governments with evil intentions and mainly climate change, have had huge increases in migration. The U.S. and Europe are seen as harborages for survival.
No amount of troops, fences, walls, or whatever would keep me from finding survival for me and my family.
Of course, Trump and his goons know this, but tapping into fears of the Zombies is too easy to pass up.
Vast migrations will continue until a balance is achieved as survival and economics trumps barriers.
Now for the next avenue of what is dividing this country. Again, it breaks down to cheap politics and power.
Republicans want every ounce of Hunter Biden, and associating him with his father and the Democrat party is to their advantage. Yes, Hunter is/was a drug addict with so many faults he was easy pickings. He did, however, pay back the past taxes and penalties, and if not for the name ‘Biden’, this would have been settled long ago. When you have the proverbial fish on the hook, use it, and beat it to death.
Years of investigations and whoopla have failed to tie President Biden to anything worthy of the Republican Nazi attacks, but the thing about many "Rs" is that really does not matter. They rhetorically want an impeachment proceeding, but fear the terrible backlash if it fails.
On the Democrat side of things, embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez found with gold bars and unexplained cash deposits is still in grace with many Democrats. Makes me wonder why they haven’t sent his butt out the door? Yeah innocent until proven guilty is the cry. Perhaps there are too many politicians afraid that ‘skeletons in the closet’ may be at hand for many in the business of politics.
