(03-08-2022, 03:42 AM)captivating Wrote:

(03-08-2022, 02:01 AM)navyjagfan Wrote: We're producing less oil in America, which is contributing to the high has prices.  There are lots of things the U.S. could have done before the Ukraine invasion, like the Keystone pipeline and more drilling in Texas, Alaska, and the Dakotas. Heck, if Biden announced that he was willing to do this, that alone would calm the markets and bring prices down. 

Anyone who doesn't think Biden bears responsibility for this mess is fooling themselves.

In April 2020, oil future dropped to -$37 a barrel.  They were paying you -$37 to take possession of a barrel of oil.  Why didn't the Government at the time step in a buy a huge inventory of oil.  They could have continued to buy at $16 a barrel.

(03-08-2022, 07:07 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: Biden is caught between 3 competing ideas: fighting inflation, cutting off Russian oil, and fighting climate change.

Cutting off Russian oil would would require a collective effort by all the Western democracies, not just the US. But if they managed to do that, the price of oil would probably go over $150 a barrel, and that would cause massive inflation and recession, and damage public support for helping Ukraine.

Presidents are often faced with a situation where they have to thread that needle. It's what made Lincoln such a great President: he managed to constantly balance competing interests.