Biden Wants OPEC to Increase Oil Production

Breitbart

There’s an old joke about a Prohibitionist minister walking into a roadside dive bar to inspect the place for sin. On the way out an hour or so later, he’s asked for his evaluation. “It’s a very bad place, this bar,” he says. “People are constantly drinking and dancing, and the bartenders have watered down even the best whiskey,” he replied.

President Joe Biden’s trip to Glasgow for the United Nation’s climate conference brought that to mind. With the price of oil pushing $85 a barrel and the price of gasoline hitting the highest level in seven years, Biden found himself in the awkward position of publicly pleading for more fossil fuel production at a global summit about reducing carbon emissions.

“I think, though, that if anybody thinks about it, no one ever thought that tomorrow — for example, it’s going to take us between now and 2030 to have half the vehicles in America electric vehicles. So, the idea we’re not going to need gasoline for automobiles is just not realistic. But we will get to the point that, by 2050, we have zero emissions,” Biden said, explaining the tension.

Of course, there’s very little reason for Saudi Arabia, Russia, or the rest of the OPEC cartel to ramp up production to aid Biden’s political standing or the U.S. economy. They can hear the president’s message just as well as anyone. And the message is a dagger aimed at the national wealth of the Saudis, Russians, and their fellow fossil fuel producers. Biden’s words—”the idea that we’re not going to need gasoline for automobiles is just not realistic. But we will get to that point”—is a promise to try to put those countries out of business.

And not just those countries. It’s a threat to U.S. producers as well, which may explain why the surge in oil prices is not apparently leading to a surge in investment. Add to that the $100 billion in taxes the Biden administration reportedly plans to put on oil and natural gas companies, and you have a pretty big disincentive to put more money into those activities.

This means we are likely going to be dealing with high energy prices through the winter, at least. AAA said Monday that pump prices will likely keep climbing so long as oil remains above $80. No wonder Biden’s job approval is tanking along with the number of Americans who tell pollsters we have a good economy.

– Alex Marlow & John Carney
Breitbart News Network