Biden Can Help Fed’s Fight

Biden Can Help Fed’s Fight

Share to Linkedin Gasoline prices hit a new 7-year high of $3. 488 a gallon today, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil ended the day at $95 a barrel. This is partly due to tensions in the Ukraine, but prices have been rising for months and U. S. regulations have exacerbated the circumstances. Higher gasoline prices harm all Americans, particularly low-income Americans, who spend about a quarter of their income on electricity and motor fuel. Lower supply equals higher prices, as recent supply chain lessons have taught us, and the Biden Administration has discouraged oil and natural gas drilling, contributing to the high prices of energy. Next month the Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates by half a percentage point to try to tame inflation. The Biden Administration can help the Fed reduce inflation by moving away from its zero-emission goals and anti-fossil fuel policies, even if only temporarily until oil prices recede. New regulations are discouraging the development of oil and gas fields. In November 2021, only 560 oil and natural gas rotary rigs were in operation, compared to 810 in November 2019 and 1, 077 in November 2018. (In 2020 demand was lower during the pandemic.) Excluding