(07-09-2022, 09:38 AM)mikesez Wrote:

(07-09-2022, 08:57 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: First of all, yes, the release of petroleum from the SPR is just a political stunt, and Biden's call for gas suppliers to cut their prices is a stupid thing to say and reflects profound ignorance of how the economic system works. 

However, to say Biden is "sending oil overseas" is an equally dumb statement, which also reflects a misunderstanding of how the system works.  

The price of oil is set on the world market.  Where crude oil goes depends on the type of oil it is, and what refinery is set up to handle that type of crude oil.  Biden doesn't "send the oil overseas."  He authorizes a release from the SPR, and the oil companies handle it from there.  

And yes, releasing oil from the SPR is just a political stunt.  But to accuse him of "sending the oil overseas" is ignorant.

 My rational brain agrees with everything you just said, However my lizard brain thinks it's too much of a coincidence that Biden sent out that dumb tweet, and wholesale gasoline prices started going down the very next day.   Coincidences like that will make a conspiracy theorists out of a lot of us...

A free market system works best when businesses try to make as much money as possible.  That brings competition, increased production, economic growth, and jobs.  

You don't cure inflation by asking people to lower their prices.  That's idiotic.  This whole idea that inflation is being driven by greedy businesses is pure demagoguery.

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