Gotta circle back this morning. I usually am gone by now but after reading this "AT" article, it fell right into this thread.
The Economic Balloon That May Finally End Progressive Leftism
The Laws of Economics are as immutable as the Law of Gravity, but few leftists grasp this fact. When it comes to the Democrats’ energy policies, I believe this immutability will finally be the Democrats’ downfall. People are reaching a pa...
www.americanthinker.com
One can postpone the fatal effects of violating the Law of Gravity by jumping from a high building (as opposed to jumping from a low one), but that postponement lasts only until the instant one meets the pavement. Believing you can fly by flapping your arms still ends in disaster. Thinking one can control economies, prices, and the environment by violating the laws of economics is just as mad. I compare economics to a water-filled balloon. When you squeeze the economy’s balloon here, it
must pop out over there.
The energy policies of progressives and leftists are aimed at cutting fossil fuel use and driving us to alternative sources. Even if we believe there are viable solutions, that transition will take decades. In the meantime, people must drive to work, and trucks still need to stock grocery stores. Interim replacement energy must come from somewhere, so shortages merely increase prices
for no good reason, except perhaps to punish us.
When President Biden took office last year, the US was a net exporter of energy, and gasoline prices were low. Biden immediately reversed many US regulations; drilling permits; the Keystone pipeline; and ANWAR, all while greenlighting the Nord Stream pipeline in Europe. That’s the one that helps Russia sell its energy to Europe.
So, Joe, is energy good or bad? Or does it only depend on the venue? Our shortfall again makes us dependent on foreign energy, importing around
700,000 barrels per day just from Russia!
Russia’s GDP is heavily dependent on energy sales. When we were a net energy exporter, we had them over a figurative “barrel” because Russia’s breakeven price for oil production is $69/bbl (2021 figure). Below that, Putin struggles. With the price now approaching $100/bbl—again, because of the balloon—Russia is flush enough to invade Ukraine. All because of Biden—the same Biden who approached OPEC last November and requested they pump more oil to help us out...to fix a problem he had caused. Just insane.
And this oil price rise is also increasing the oil wealth of Iran, our next crisis pariah. So, Biden squeezed the balloon to follow the insanity of the climate alarmists and, by doing so, made the world many times worse. But of course, if you ask a progressive, there is no causal relationship between these issues.