Is Trump the reason gasoline prices are increasing?
By Roger Caldwell
Gas prices in America have increased 25% since the tax deal was passed and signed by the president in late December 2017. This is the highest increase since late 2014, when the cost of a barrel of gasoline was $100. The cost of a barrel is now $80. Americans will be going on vacation, and the price of gasoline is going in the wrong direction.
Democrats are blaming Trump on his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, and The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia have put caps on the amount of oil their members could produce. Many energy experts indicate Trump’s decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran is hurting consumers at the pump.
ABC News says: “Leading up to Memorial Day weekend, gas prices nationwide are up 5% from last week and are .52 cents higher than a year ago. Higher gas prices have already more than offset the nominal, short-term gains Republicans claim working families got from the Trump tax cuts.”
The president has claimed that he has tremendous power over controlling gas prices, but they keep going up. When gasoline prices started escalating, many Americans thought this was a minor global energy adjustment, and the United States had everything under control, but the increase in prices is not stopping.
Minority leader, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and other Democrats wants Trump to pressure OPEC and Russia to boost production, and U.S. oil companies should lower their prices. With Trump’s tax deal, many American oil companies are making historical profits, and Trump’s administration is looking in the other direction as middle and lower-class residents are feeling the pressure of higher prices.
Higher gas prices force middle and lower-class Americans to decide if they are going to eat, buy medicine, or get another job. It is time for all Americans to start complaining, call and write their representatives, and tell them to do something about these high gasoline prices.
On the other hand, Republicans are saying there is nothing the president can do about gasoline prices; prices are controlled by supply and demand, and the free market determines prices. This is obviously not true.
“Last year, the U.S. became the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, and it’s on track to become the world’s top oil producer this year. The Trump administration has heralded an era of energy dominance,” says Alan Neuhauser, reporter for U.S. News.
With all of this talk of energy dominance, it would appear that the price of gasoline would be going down, but instead the price is going up. Trump’s policies are making steel, oil and gas drilling more expensive, and rolling back vehicle fuel standards hurts the U.S. consumer.
Trump must reduce America’s dependence on oil, and ramp up domestic production, and ramp down domestic consumption.
Something is wrong in Trump’s administration with the decisions they are making in terms of energy and energy dominance. The lower 30% of the American population is feeling the increase of gasoline prices. It is time for Trump to take action, and lower gasoline prices.
When Trump became president, he claimed his tremendous power over gas prices would lower the price of energy, but something went wrong. He has now been president for a year and a half, and the prices are going up. Maybe he was just telling another lie.
