As Skyrocketing Energy Prices Pummel Americans With ‘Stagflationary Effects,’ The Biden Administration Shuts Down Yet More Domestic Energy Production

Energy Costs Are Skyrocketing Under President Biden

Since President Biden was sworn in to office, the weekly price of all retail gasoline formulations has increased by more than $2. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Accessed 5/18/2022)

Electricity prices have increased 11% year-on-year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 5/18/2022)

Natural gas prices have increased 23% year-on-year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 5/18/2022)

Fuel oil prices have increased 80% year-on-year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 5/18/2022)

As Of May 19^th, Gas Prices Have Hit A Record High For Ten Consecutive Days

May 19, 2022 marks 10 straight days of record high gas prices. (AAA Gas Prices, Accessed 5/19/2022)

For The First Time Ever, Gas Prices Exceed $4 In All 50 States

“Not too long ago in some parts of the United States, paying more than $4 for a gallon of gas was seen as a coastal problem faced by Americans in pricey big cities. But now, for the first time, the average price for a gallon of gas has surpassed $4 in all 50 states. While the national average price has been hovering at or above $4 for weeks, Georgia, Kansas and Oklahoma had yet to cross the mark, according to data tracked by AAA.” (“Gas Prices Pass $4 Per Gallon In Every U.S. State For The First Time,” The Washington Post, 5/18/2022)

Natural Gas Prices ‘Have Also Surged To Their Highest Levels In More Than A Decade, Raising Costs For Everything From Home Heating And Cooking To Fertilizer, Chemicals And Wholesale Electricity’

“The Biden administration has been trying for months to dodge the political fallout from high gasoline prices. Now it has an even bigger energy headache to worry about…. [P]rices for another crucial fossil fuel — natural gas — have also surged to their highest levels in more than a decade, raising costs for everything from home heating and cooking to fertilizer, chemicals and wholesale electricity…. U.S. natural gas prices have more than doubled since the start of the year and are forecast to average over $8 per million British thermal units for the rest of 2022, well above the $2 to $4 range the fuel has typically traded inside for the past decade.” (“Biden’s Battling One Energy Price Nightmare. Here Comes Another.,” Politico, 5/13/2022)

• “While the price move may not be as immediately visible to the average consumer as the spike in gasoline, it will contribute to the inflation that has dogged Biden for months, mostly by raising costs for food, heating, plastics and utility bills. Homeowners in some states dependent on gas have complained their winter heating costs nearly doubled from the previous year.” (“Biden’s Battling One Energy Price Nightmare. Here Comes Another.,” Politico, 5/13/2022)

• SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): “We have hundreds of years of supplies of [natural] gas…. What we don’t have and what the Biden administration is not readily providing is the infrastructure to move it. That will do more than anything to help with energy prices.” (“Biden’s Battling One Energy Price Nightmare. Here Comes Another.,” Politico, 5/13/2022)

Electricity Rates Are Going Up Too: ‘These Price Hikes Are Being Felt Nationwide’

“Electric power generation rates are going up — way up, industry observers say. After a recent wholesale energy auction, electric generation rates are expected to rise in June, largely due to market pressures, said Matt Schilling, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)….  Effective June, for AES Ohio customers using 873 kilowatt-hours (kWh) each month (matching the average residential Ohioan’s usage), the ‘standard offer rate’ portion of their bill will be $95.25, more than double the current $41.95, according to the PUCO.” (“Your Electric Bill Is About To Get A Lot More Expensive,” Dayton Daily News, 5/04/2022)

• “Mary Ann Kabel, a spokeswoman for AES Ohio, cited a number of factors. ‘Due to a number of conditions including the situation in Ukraine, inflation, price of natural gas and market conditions our customers will see rates increased by $0.06 per kWh, potentially doubling the price of the standard service offer,’ she said in an email. ‘The new rates will go into effect in June 2022.’” (“Your Electric Bill Is About To Get A Lot More Expensive,” Dayton Daily News, 5/04/2022)

• “These price hikes are being felt nationwide. Natural gas produces about 40 percent of America’s electricity. Maha Kashani, senior regional sales manager for Dublin, Ohio-based retail energy supplier IGS Energy, said she and her colleagues have seen an ‘incredible amount of instability in the natural gas and electricity markets over the past year.’ ‘We have seen an incredible amount of volatility in the natural gas and electricity markets over the past year,’ Kashani said in an email Wednesday. ‘Limited production response coupled with increased demand and perceived risk have led to a rapid run-up in prices. I haven’t seen anything like this before in my career, and I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years.’” (“Your Electric Bill Is About To Get A Lot More Expensive,” Dayton Daily News, 5/04/2022)

“Lehigh Valley homeowners and renters will pay as much as $34 more per month, on average, this spring for electricity. That’s how much PPL Electric Utilities says it’s raising average residential bills effective June 1, based on a rate hike of 38.3% from 8.941 cents per kilowatt-hour to 12.366 cents per kWh and average use of 1,000 kWh per month. FirstEnergy Corp.’s Met-Ed on June 1 is raising residential rates 16.3% from 6.83 to 7.94 cents per kWh.” (“Lehigh Valley Electric Rates Are Rising 16% To 38% For Homes,” Lehigh Valley Live, 5/04/2022)

• “PPL Electric Utilities and Met-Ed both said their default rates are increasing due to rising costs of natural gas and other commodities used as fuel to generate power. Jane George, spokeswoman for the PPL utility provider, also pointed to overall ‘inflation and global economic events.’” (“Lehigh Valley Electric Rates Are Rising 16% To 38% For Homes,” Lehigh Valley Live, 5/04/2022)

President Biden’s Treasury Secretary Admits That ‘Higher Food And Energy Prices Are Having Stagflationary Effects’

TREASURY SECRETARY JANET YELLEN: “[A]nd higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects… These pressures are not likely to abate in the very near future” (“Yellen Warns Of ‘Stagflationary Effects’ Of Higher Food And Gas Prices,” Axios, 5/18/2022)

And Yet The Biden Administration Continues To Shut Down American Energy Production, Most Recently By Canceling More Oil And Gas Lease Sales In Alaska And The Gulf Of Mexico

“The Biden administration has canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease opportunities pending before the Interior Department. The decision, which halts the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres in the Cook Inlet in Alaska, comes at a challenging political moment, when gas prices are hitting painful new highs…. The department also halted two leases under consideration for the Gulf of Mexico region …” (“Biden Administration Cancels Alaska Oil And Gas Lease Sale,” CBS News, 5/13/2022)

• “The Cook Inlet lease sale would have opened more than one million acres for drilling, spanning at least 40 years of production.” (“Biden Administration Cancels Drilling Sales in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico, The New York Times, 5/12/2022)

• “Federal law requires the administration to issue a new offshore leasing plan every five years, which is designed to balance the nation’s energy needs with environmental and economic factors. The current plan expires on June 30, raising concerns among Republicans, the oil and gas industry and some Democrats from fossil fuel states that offshore leasing will be in limbo starting in July.” (“Biden Administration Cancels Drilling Sales in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico, The New York Times, 5/12/2022)

“Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents oil and gas companies, said in a statement that he would ‘urge the administration to end the uncertainty’ for the oil industry and issue the five year plan. Mr. Macchiarola said the decision to scrap lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska ‘is becoming a pattern’ in the Biden administration. ‘The administration talks about the need for more supply and acts to restrict it,’ he said.” (“Biden Administration Cancels Drilling Sales in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico, The New York Times, 5/12/2022)

FLASHBACK: Biden Administration Officials: ‘President Biden Remains Absolutely Committed To Not Moving Forward With Additional Drilling On Public Lands’

WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL CLIMATE ADVISOR GINA McCARTHY: “President Biden remains absolutely committed to not moving forward with additional drilling on public lands. The challenge that we faced was that we had a court that ordered a new lease to be done. The Department of Energy had no choice but to put it out. But they also found ways to reduce the size of that and its impact. And we’ll keep doing what we need to do to appeal those decisions and to make our case in a court.” (MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson Reports , 4/20/2022)

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI: “Well, let me first say that today’s action … was the result of a court injunction that we continue to appeal.  And it’s not in line with the President’s policy, which was to ban additional leasing … I would just note that we are going to continue to fight this court injunction that is forcing our hand in allowing this to proceed, even as we have taken actions to reduce by 80 percent the areas to lease and impose stringent environmental standards…. [A]gain, these leases are not in line with our policy or the President’s view.” (White House Press Briefing, 4/18/2022)

Meanwhile, Democrats In Congress Are Only Offering ‘Show Vote[s]’ On Bills Serious Economists Call ‘Dangerous Nonsense’ Based On Nothing More Than ‘A Conspiracy Theory’ About Inflation

“SHOW VOTE: The nationwide average price for a gallon of gas hit another all-time high on Sunday, at $4.47, but the House and Senate are set for inaction. Democratic leadership’s preferred policy response to record-high gas prices is to vote on a bill, H.R. 7688 (117), that would give the Federal Trade Commission the power to penalize oil companies if the government can prove they are inflating the price of gasoline. The bill is on the House agenda this week, but it has no chance of getting GOP support. The idea to use legislation to punish price gouging was also called ‘nonsense’ by former President Barack Obama’s chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. And it didn’t exactly get a ringing endorsement from DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday.” (“The Gasoline Price-Gouging Fight To Nowhere,” Politico’s Weekly Transportation, 5/16/2022)

Liberal Economists: ‘The Price Gouging At The Pump Stuff … Is Dangerous Nonsense,’ ‘[M]any Of The Arguments For ‘Greedflation’ Are Unequivocally Wrong & Confused’

LARRY SUMMERS, Former Clinton Administration Treasury Secretary: “The price gouging at the pump stuff, the more general price gouging stuff … It is dangerous nonsense. There is no material prospect that in any enduring way gouging legislation can have any substantial effect on inflationary pressure. But it can cause and contrive all kinds of shortages… This gouging talk is a diversionary confusion.” (Bloomberg TV’s “The Balance of Power,” 5/13/2022)

JASON FURMAN, Former Obama White House Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers: “[M]any of the arguments for ‘greedflation’ are unequivocally wrong & confused…. Most importantly … I think that 5% fines on corporations for raising prices above cost and price controls on gasoline are genuinely terrible ideas.” (Jason Furman, @jasonfurman, Twitter, 5/15/2022)

• FURMAN: “When more people want to buy things than companies are capable of making, prices go up. That’s just the law of supply and demand… Companies always want to maximize their profits. I don’t think they’re doing it any more this year than any other year.” (NPR, 1/12/2022)

‘If You Like Today’s Baby Formula Mess,’ You’ll Love Democrats’ ‘Price Controls By Another Name’

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “As night follows day, the economic problems caused by government are invariably followed by government solutions that would make everything worse. For a classic of the genre, consider the bill introduced by Democratic Senators to fight inflation by attacking price ‘gouging.’ Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and seven Democratic colleagues in the Senate and six in the House want to punish companies that raise prices more than they like. The result would be price controls by another name, and they would produce what price controls always do—supply shortages. If you like today’s baby formula mess, pass this bill.” (Editorial, “The Senators From Venezuela,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/16/2022)

Democrats’ Obsession With ‘Price Gouging’ Is ‘A Conspiracy Theory’ That ‘Is Encouraging Democrats To Pursue Policies That Could Be Actively Harmful’

THE WASHINGTON POST’S CATHERINE RAMPELL: “A conspiracy theory has been infecting the Democratic Party, its progressive base, even the White House…. Call it ‘Greedflation.’ The theory goes something like this: The reason prices are up so much is that companies have gotten ‘greedy’ and are conspiring to ‘pad their profits,’ ‘profiteer’ and ‘price-gouge.’ No one has managed to define ‘profiteering’ and ‘price-gouging’ more specifically than ‘raising prices more than I’d like.’ For example, a bill introduced on Thursday by Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) bans ‘price-gouging,’ which it defines as ‘unconscionably excessive’ pricing. What counts as an ‘unconscionably excessive’ price, you ask? TBD, but it’s definitely going to be illegal…. The problem with this narrative is that it’s just a pejorative tautology…. At best, this approach has done nothing to curb inflation. Worse, it has distracted Democrats from taking actions that could help, because this ‘greedflation’ narrative has persuaded both policymakers and the public to misdiagnose the problem’s causes. Worst of all, it is encouraging Democrats to pursue policies that could be actively harmful. These include a proposed tax on ‘windfall’ oil profits, which would likely reduce oil production exactly when we want output to increase. Or a mass student debt jubilee, which could drive consumer demand even higher. It may feel good to throw red meat to the anti-corporate populist left. Righteous fury about evil businesses earns plenty of retweets. But it has also hampered Democrats’ efforts to get inflation under control — and in so doing, sabotaged their reelection prospects.” (Catherine Rampell, “An Inflation Conspiracy Theory Is Infecting The Democratic Party,” The Washington Post, 5/12/2022)