A Big Cause Of Inflation Is The Price Of Gasoline

[gab13by13]

The US exports 1.8 million barrels/day of crude oil, gasoline, diesel, and other refined products.

Why?

Magats have 3 election talking points and one of them is inflation, and they stick to hammering those 3.

Can president Biden do something to temporarily stop the export of fossil fuels? Can Congress?

Can Democrats at least combat the argument of high gas prices to our exporting of crude, gasoline, and diesel?

Why not use this as a rebuttal to high gas prices?

[SheltieLover]

1. Diesel fuel, specifically as it causes rverything to cost much more

[bullimiami]

2. THE big cause of inflation. Affects every price.

[Yavin4]

3. That's the lie they want you to believe.

The real cause is corporate consolidation, lack of competition, and intense pressure to maintain shareholder value by gouging consumers.

Don't believe the hype.

[iemanja]

18. But that was the situation three years ago

every bit as much as today. There is nothing new about that which would cause inflation.

[Bettie]

22. YES!

I've been saying this as well.

And the price of gasoline is not 'supply and demand' so much as "We want some more money, so we'll cut production and make it more expensive....".

[Just A Box Of Rain]

4. Perhaps part of the reason we don't cut off oil exports is because we have critical allies

in NATO (and beyond) who are also facing precarious situations due to Putin's war of agression on Ukraine and going "nativist" would be a very bad look (in addition to having dire geopolitical consequences)?

The reactionary tendencies of America First doesn't reflect well on the far-right when they are the agents of economic nationalism and xenophobia. We should strive not to be like them.

There are also issues about which types of oil we are best able to refine here at home. We export the "other" types.

[gab13by13]

5. OK, make that into a Democratic election talking point.

I was just listening to Thom Hartmann and he is totally behind temporarily suspending our fossil fuel exports. If high gas/diesel prices are causing our inflation, why not fix it in the short term?

I guarantee you that if the fossil fuel industry was not making more money from exporting their products, they wouldn't do it.

Fossil fuel companies export because they make money. They wouldn't make as much money if they kept oil, gas, and diesel here in the US. Follow the money.

This has nothing to do with the autocratic America First fascists, this has to do with temporarily helping working class Americans.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

6. I will not support undermining our national interests by cutting off oil exports to critical allies

in order to appeal to regressive and reactionary nativist-populist impulses.

No way in hell.

America First nativism looks bad when it comes from either extreme, just as it did in the 1930s when isolationism that was embraced by the fringe on both extremes advanced the interests of Adolf Hitler.

Vladamir Putin would LOVE IT if the USA cut off oil exports to our allies.

Nothing could be a bigger blunder. Are you sure you've thought this through???

[gab13by13]

8. Oh I have thought it through

that's why I'm stopping here.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

13. Taking political cues from conspiracy theorists like Thom Hartmann

who worked for Vladamir Putin's Russia Today propaganda network for 7 years and who is now advising a policy that would work hugely to Putin's geopolitical advantage and harm America's national interests by undermining our allience, is a massive mistake IMO.

[Mr.Bill]

7. It's also a matter refinery capacity.

All the crude oil in the world is useless if you can't refine enough of it.

[gab13by13]

9. Gasoline and diesel are also being exported.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Of course it is

Everything needs to be transported.

[gab13by13]

11. I found data from 2018,

the top 3 countries that we export fossil fuel to;

1. Canada 19%
2. S. Korea 12%
3. China 11%

I guess China has all of a sudden become our ally? We can't stop exporting to China or it may ally with Russia.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

14. Canada and South Korea are allies.

Gas and oil are international fungible commodities.

If we pull exports it would hurt western democracies very badly--whether they get their gas and oil from the US directly (or not).

That's the way a global economy works. Closing our exports would make the situation with our allies more dire. It would be a real "fuck you" in the middle of war that we need to help the Ukrainian win.

Putin would be thrilled if we followed Thom Hartmann's policy preferences. Big surprise there.

Fortunately, we have a foreign policy professional in the Oval Office who knows better than to go for nativist-populist economic nationalism at the worst possible moment.

[gab13by13]

12. Updated data,

Who Does The Us Export The Most Oil To? Mexico—1.16 million b/d—13% Canada—0.84 million b/d—10% India—0.62 million b/d—7% China—0.59 million b/d—7% South Korea—0.56 million b/d—6%

Bye the by, China just announced it is suspending selling natural gas to Europe, yet the US must ship 0.59 million barrels a day to China.

[gratuitous]

15. Where do you suppose the extra money at the pump is going?

Boy, that's a real dome-scratcher, there. If I'm paying $55 for a fill up that used to cost $35, that extra $20 should show up somewhere, don't you think? The station owner doesn't seem to be making out like a bandit. The driver of the truck that re-fills the station tanks isn't making money hand over fist. Where could it possibly be going???

Could this be a clue?

Big oil's quarterly profits hit record $50 billion, with BP yet to come

LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Big Oil has never had it so good, and its immediate priority is rewarding shareholders.

The world's largest energy companies, including TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) are ramping up buyback programmes despite criticism that they are not moving swiftly enough to increase oil and gas output as high fuel prices pinch consumers worldwide.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies produced a combined profit of $51 billion, with Exxon topping the pile at $18 billion.

I guess it's a mystery that will never be solved.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. Are We Blaming The Refiners?

Despite hyperbole around here, the refiners have close to zero control over market price.
BP & the like are incredibly lucky beneficiaries of a commodities market that is out of control.
They've rigged it so they can't lose, only gain.
If we want to blame greed, we need to look for the correct source of it.
If we want to correct course, we need to target the proper layer of commerce.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

19. Quite wrong.

A lack of refinery capacity hurts the supply and the lack of supply drives up costs.

Basic economics.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. There's No Lack

You have bought exactly what they wanted you to.
I have extensive experience in refining & petrochem.
There is no refinery in the US running above 85% nameplate capacity.
Please stay in your lane.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

21. Simply not truthful on any front.

Refining capacity is down because many refineries have shut down.

I'll happily stay in my lane, which is reality-based understanding of economics and politics, as opposed to dime-store populism.

Thanks anyway.

[gratuitous]

24. Apparently some of the refiners are profiteering as well

Link to post at Daily Kos here.

A review of oil refiner shareholder reports by Consumer Watchdog reveals that California oil refiners made an average of 32 cents per gallon annually from 2001 – 2021 compared to unprecedented profits of between 79 cents per gallon and $1.01 per gallon in the second quarter of 2022.

I wonder if a tripling of refiners' profit margin had any effect at all on the price consumers are paying at the pump? Looks like refiners may be manufacturing some of their incredible luck, which sort of makes it less like luck and more like greed.

[VMA131Marine]

17. I'd say the big problem is the price of diesel

Gasoline in Connecticut is currently in the low to mid $3 range. Diesel is selling for $5.50 to $6.10. It’s selling at a premium to gasoline even taking into account a gallon of diesel has about 140,000 Btus of energy compared to about 100,000 for gasoline. On a per BTU basis, diesel should be about $4.90

[roamer65]

23. We should have never lifted the oil export ban.

That said sales should be ended to selected countries…like China.

[ZonkerHarris]

25. Because explaining how things really are to most Americans is like debating a pig