Russia's Ukraine Invasion Could Break Oil's Grip On U.S. Politics
When Joe Biden laid out America’s response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, he promised aggressive measures like a crackdown on Russian banks and a limit on exports to the country. But notably absent from his self-declared effort to defend democracy and make Vladimir Putin a “pariah,” was one of the biggest penalties he could impose: targeting Russia’s energy industry. Instead, Biden suggested that sanction might be off the table. “As we respond, my administration is using… every tool at our disposal to protect American families and businesses from rising prices at the gas pump,” he said. “We’re taking active steps to bring down the costs.”
It was a quick moment, but a striking one. In the face of a full-scale assault on Ukraine by a resurgent Russia, protecting American consumers from paying a few extra dollars to fill up at the gas station appeared to outrank defending global democracy. In context, though, Biden’s position was hardly surprising. The political impact of domestic energy costs has shaped U.S. foreign and national security policy for the better part of 50 years. The administration’s adamant efforts to keep energy prices low throughout Biden’s 13 months in office follow decades of conventional political wisdom that maintains that few—if any—issues are significant enough for consumers to willingly give up cheap gas prices to address them.
What is surprising is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine may be changing that calculation. As a growing chorus of officials in Washington calls for an embargo on Russian oil, and opinion polls show a majority of consumers willing to pay more to defend Ukraine, the Biden Administration has been forced to consider it—along with the political challenges it raises. “Every politician is going through this right about now: is this a moment to ask for additional sacrifice?” says Gernot Wagner, a professor at New York University who studies the economics of climate change.
The lasting impact of this moment could be far-reaching: it may shape not just the course of Russia’s war with Ukraine but the way politicians across the globe weigh the impact of energy prices on everything from taxes to climate change.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/russias-ukraine-invasion-could-break-oils-grip-on-us-politics/ar-AAUKMiT
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I, for one, am tired of fighting wars over oil.
impressive! 
