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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Thursday, June 09, 2022

Gas Prices Reach Breaking Point

Steve Thode, who has been a numbers cruncher for this blog, emailed me yesterday about gas prices, a topic with which all of you are undoubtedly aware.  Here's his brief missive:

Locally, Lehigh County is reporting an average price of $5.01 per gallon for Regular; Northampton County is reporting an average price of $5.02 per gallon for Regular.

If you are averaging 25 MPG, you are now paying 20 cents per mile just for gas; if you are averaging 20 MPG, you are paying 25 cents per mile just for gas.

https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=PA

I believe $5 gas is the breaking point for many of us whose income is already fairly meager. 

We've known these increases have been coming for months, but as usual, our elected officials have  done nothing to ease the burden until now. Congress is considering temporary elimination of the national gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. 

If the national gas tax is suspended until the end of the year, that would save consumers only between $16 and $47. 

To be more effective, a national gas tax holiday would have to be coupled with one on the state level. 

Pennsylvania has the third highest gas tax in the nation,  at 77 cents a gallon. The General Assembly, as usual, is in recess. But there are proposals from both sides of the aisle to suspend at least a portion of this surcharge. One Republican proposal would use American Rescue Act money to fund state police and float a bond for critical infrastructure. 

I asked Thode his opinion on the effectiveness of a gas tax holiday; 

My concern about a tax holiday is two-fold: 1) it may lead to an increase in consumption which may only make the problem worse; which, 2) may lead to (possibly endless) extension(s) of the holiday.

What might work better is to target low-income households with either a rebate on their state income tax; or, direct checks to residents whose 2021 reported income is below a certain threshold.

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

If we eliminate either of those taxes the gas companies will pounce. The savings will be erased in weeks. I don't know if you look at these things however year after year quarterly profits have at least double for the companies. I hope they enjoy stealing from their fellow Americans.

Anonymous said...

Hope all you Biden voters are happy This guy is the worse president in our history. I can not figure out how anybody could vote for that fool sitting in his basement. The duty of republicans is to impeach this guy as soon as possible and also get rid of Harris she may be worse than Biden. This must be done for the sake of our country.

Anonymous said...

Bernie your in the cutting edge of this as you are prepared to bike anywhere you need to go while the rest of us don't even own a bicycle. They can eliminate the tax completely and tighten the government budgets. Ride on Bernie!

Anonymous said...

All will be solved when the Republicans take back the congress this Fall. Then when President Trump gets elected in 2024.

peterjcochran said...

A lot of the driving we see on roadway is for largely unnecessary. Look around,why aren’t they working someplace? Failure to plan the route of an unplanned trip ( movement) to do a task ,results in waisted time and energy. Then on top of this , drivers are not heeding to costs with better driving habits. So why subsidize? If anyone of us were to write it down”what’s the agenda,,” I need to start the car . I’m compelled to return to Giant to return a bad banana! Drivers push their cars too hard up Knox ave for example than ride the breaks into the light ,that’s just stupid ,they understand nothing about energy concerns. Why subsidized stupid ? Don’t worry Bernie, and same people voted for this ,they wanted this . This sitting President was handed an ENERGY independent Country by that last administration. This administrations policies and choices of chocking energy here created this mess ,the first week in the WH. , they like it , they don’t care if we’re not competitive in world markets they want this. Give it away like yesterday to the Chinese. They made this issue happen,those people that want subsidies voted for this. I say , make them sweat.

Anonymous said...

Gas prices are just one of many, many failures of this administration. Lets face it, DC is broken. Rs and Ds alike are garbage and this country is being held hostage while they fight over the scraps. We need a coming to christ moment in this country...

Anonymous said...

"What might work better is to target low-income households with either a rebate on their state income tax; or, direct checks to residents whose 2021 reported income is below a certain threshold."


Did Thode fall and hit his head?

So his alternate solution is not to give gasoline CONSUMERS a break at the pump, it's to create another mechanism to transfer that tax money to someone else?! If you do what he's suggesting there's no guarantee that the people receiving the "rebate" or "direct check" even have a vehicle on which they would have paid the gas tax.

I'm not sure how hard he is on grading his economics students, but he gets an 'F' in Econ 101 for this.

There is no need to complicate this - eliminate the gas tax to give relief to those who are buying gas and feeling the pain. The state should follow suit.

Of course, all of this could be avoided if the Biden administration would stop its war on gas and oil production. The increased prices are not because of Vladimir Putin, who Biden frequently blames. It's Democrat energy policies that are the cause of the high prices, which were rising well before Russia invaded the Ukraine.

Anonymous said...

I think you and Steve have completely missed the environmental point of higher fuel prices. I'm surprised you are not defending them, as many environmentalism acolytes are. Can't the Poors simply ride bikes and drive electric cars to save an environment that has just a few years left? In the words of Greta Thunberg, how dare you? These prices are by design. It's supposed to hurt. This administration hasn't been shy about it. Your closing your eyes or not paying attention to your political team. You endorsed this. But now you care. Yeah. Time for a new program!

Anonymous said...

UUUUuuuuummmmmmmmm? Which party of ELECTED OFFICIALS has done nothing? And lets keep throwing money at the "poor". Meanwhile as I daily commute to work I pay more. Because I work I don't get stimulus checks, or ...... More like time to put a max. limit on free money to one person, household....... Third highest tax rate? Worst roads. Keep sending people over the border. Give them drivers licenses like MA just voted to do and on and on and.....

Anonymous said...

Your People in power created this crisis they will never solve it the political class wants this situation so they can go to the green new deal. We must get rid of all people in power as soon as possible. We must use the election ballot and impeachment to get rid of these people.

Ray Nemeth Sr said...

We can bet a low income subsidy will be attractive to progressive politicians, it will create more dependency and will it ever be rescinded?

Why not allow the natural gas pipelines to be completed to use the capped wells in Ne Pa. it will take some pressure off other fuels.

Why not encourage more oil production, rather than keep insisting that we are going off fossil fuels now.

We are losing refining capacity and becoming more dependent on foreign oil and gas.

Lets face it, we do not have the electric capacity at present to shift to electric vehicles.

Are we to expect that everyone can scrap their present vehicle and purchase a new electric vehicles which in many cases is not even available.

Electric vehicles may be good, but they will need to be phased in over time.

The energy producers must be given the assurance that investment in infrastructure, refining and production will not be a political war, with them the enemy.

I now believe none of these problems will be addressed by this administration and its cohorts.

Expect 2 more years of chaos.

Anonymous said...

Of course a Republican would want divert Recovery money to State Police to support free loading communities that do not have their own police and rely on the PSP. Time to impose a police impact fee on wealthy communities like wealthy LMT that seemingly has tons of money for community projects. If you really want to Back the Blue, the State should support local police. It has been said here before, any sizeable municipality that does not have their own police, should not exist. Providing free PSP police protection to municipalities is an entitlement.

Anonymous said...

I totally disagree on the rebate or check idea to low income people. They would use the money on other stuff rather than gas for their cars. Reducing the tax at state level is the only way to go. Even with the full tax being reduced to nothing gas will still be over 4.00 and that is still too high. We need to start pumping and open the pipeline to bring prices down to solve the problem.

Anonymous said...

Can't you separate to Faux Entertainment commenters from the reality we live in?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Most of the comments here are completely political. You can blame Biden or Democrats for wanting us to get away from fossil fuels, but the question of a gas tax holiday and whether it would be helpful is more immediate. Allowing a pipeline to be completed does nothing to solve prices at the pump now.

I do agree that my party is going to pay a heavy price, not at the punmp, but at the polls in November. Attempting to divert the public'a attention with a prime time show of the insurrection with never seen before footage is really a slap across the face of working people who could really use some help dealing with out-of-control inflation.

Anonymous said...

The fuel price problem, like so many other problems we face currently, is the result of bad POLITICAL decisions made by elected officials who somehow see themselves unaffected. The Democrats are at the controls so they deserve most of the blame. But, weak, complicit Republicans (our so-called source for checks and balances) are also guilty of putting us in these situations.

Fellow voters, the best solution is to vote against ALL Incumbents now in office at the state and federal level. Obviously, voting out the current crop of Democrats is the highest priority.

All of this assumes the election process here is trustworthy. On that, I’m not so sure.

Anonymous said...

Trumplicans blaming Biden because it hurts the head too much to understand that the oil companies are actually price gouging for record profits.

Anonymous said...

I know the moderator wants to avoid political posts, but inflation and gas prices will be Joe Biden's legacy. Inflation and gas prices are hitting everyday working class Americans the hardest, these are the people that the Democrats used to advocate for when my blue collar/union parents were staunch members of the party.

The leader of the greatest country in World has ushered in an "incredible transition". I can't wait for the "incredible transition" this Fall when the Republicans re-take Congress and then the White House in 2024.

Anonymous said...

When the going gets tough, the tough scream "SEND ME A CHECK"... My grandparents, who scraped by during the 1930's depression are rolling over in their graves....

Bernie O'Hare said...

I am no longer going to publish comments that just blather on about Democrats and Biden without bothering to actually address the subject and come up with meaningful suggestions about a gas tax holiday or other IMMEDIATE solutions that will reduce prices at the pump. Can any of you actually think?

Anonymous said...

Fuel companies have been in bed with all politicians for too long and the narrow minded fools who blame one side or the the other are exactly the people that petroleum companies like to steal from. There are a number of things which need to be considered but ultimately petroleum companies a GOUGING Americans because they are encouraged to get away with it for political purposes.

There is no other product which the price can fluctuate 5%, 10% or more in a matter of days. The supply chain for gas products is 6 to 10 months which in most instances would create price changes along a similar time frame. Fuel prices change overnight! It is not reality that prices change like that. The companies change them for profit and agenda.

Now to prove that point plastics are made from petroleum also. Those prices take months to change and change over time in gradual trends. Both are produced in common simultaneous activities yet their prices change at dramatically different time periods and escalations. If plastics would follow the same correlation any consumer product is substantially made of plastics should have double if not tripled in price.

Fuel and petroleum products are a way to legal steal from consumers and is protected and encouraged by the politicians.

Anonymous said...

It is all about CONTROL!

Anonymous said...

I did Bernie (reopen the Keystone Pipeline and utilize PA resources such as Marcellus Shale) but you won’t publish it. This administration is to blame for the high gas prices, plain and simple, so it’s tough to keep politics out of it.

Anonymous said...

I support any tax holiday, as fuel taxes are flat taxes that inflict their most acute pain on lower income citizens. It's difficult to divorce political considerations from higher prices, as the average per gallon was just $2.49 two summer ago. It's $4.98 this morning. There is no immediate solution, except for individuals to cut back. Contraction is a key ingredient in a recession though, which is the only solution to any of this, sadly. I don't think this gets better for a long time.

Anonymous said...

I’m someone who enjoys to go for rides and explore on nice summer days, but will curtail that due to the gas prices. While I can’t stand the apparent ineptitude of this administration (and don’t read that as support for the Trump administration), I don’t blame any president for fuel prices. What I do blame Biden and company for is all of his “Build Back Better” and other alleged stimulus packages that will cost the taxpayer much in the next few decades. Government spending is idiotic and that worries me much more than gas prices. Hopefully, gas prices will make people get rid of there status SUVs in favor or reasonable automobiles.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I did Bernie (reopen the Keystone Pipeline and utilize PA resources such as Marcellus Shale)"

This is no solution to an IMMEDIATE problem and may not be a solution at all. The question is what can be done to reduce prices at the pump right now, not 20 years from now, if ever.

Anonymous said...

"Are monopolies allowed by United States law?
Monopolies are illegal within the United States, but there are circumstances where a natural monopoly can occur. In these circumstances, a market or market sector has barriers to entry that are so prohibitively high that only one firm, or a few firms (known as an oligopoly), have a presence there."

I am thinking that the true solution would be to break the strangle hold a few oil companies have on our country. Just as the railroads had to be regulated in the past when people in our country got fed up with crushing transportation costs for food and supplies across the country due to the railroad monopolization. I agree with the previous poster, if we get a tax break or any other temporary reduction the oil companies will just raise it again even quicker. There is no incentive to stop. They have and will continue to gouge as long as they are not stopped legally.
People seem to forget that the oil companies, just as the railroads in the past, are given huge breaks, buying U.S. government land for pennies on the dollar along with tax breaks, with the idea that it would help all U.S. citizens. Seems the monopoly of oil companies will always push the prices up as long as they fool people into thinking they have no choice. If this were not true and we had an actual competitive market you would not see history making record breaking profits from oil companies. Did you notice the prices drop when Biden released the U.S, reserves? No? hmmm. That means having more oil really doesn't mean much to companies that are controlling the supply and the prices.
The only way we will ever see reasonable prices again is if the government stops the monopolies by regulating gas just as it was done in the past.

Anonymous said...

The Keystone Pipeline to Midwest refineries is open and operational. The Keystone XL. EXPORT pipeline was ever operational. Exports command a higher price and droves up domestic price.

Yes, Jan 6 is trumps legacy. A crime against the Constitution.

Anonymous said...

There is NO immediate solution to this fuel situation, Except, of course, throwing money at the problem. You know, it has been shown to be relatively quick and easy to tear down a nation. Rebuilding takes much longer. But, the rebuild needs to begin regardless.

This IS a political problem. A good beginning is to get different government people in place. That will take a couple years, too. But, without removing the misguided decision-makers there can be no improvement.

Short of using a simple band aid (throw money at it) to stop the bleeding and hide the damage, we need a cure. If there really is a quick fix, that, too will need to be effected by our POLITICIANS, not commenters on a blog. Finding a cure, even if more slowly than we would like is ultimately the responsibility of those government people who represent us. It is THEY who have failed us!

In the meantime, don’t buy into this craziness. Adjust your fuel usage as best you can so that you purchase less. Supply and demand is real.

Oh, using oil and coal is NOT bad. We have plenty available. Nature will be just fine. Oil and coal IS nature! Consider that much of the Green New Deal really is junk science, part of a political agenda.

Anonymous said...

Bernie - let's stop with the "increasing drilling, or increasing refinery space won't solve the problem now" line. You are both right and wrong in saying this. You're right, it won't be an immediate fix. The best fix would have been two years ago to not go after the oil and gas industry, shut down pipelines, and make drilling and refining harder. As an engineer, I've witnessed the impact on some of my oil and gas customers that make the availability of fuel harder. But you have to start somewhere, and dismissing this out of hand because it's not an immediate cure-all prolongs the pain far into the future.

And to your commenters that talk about gouging - you show your economic illiteracy. I've worked on an oil refinery project before - designing the system and working out the economics of it. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life, and it wipes away the easy words and replaces it with a harsh reality. Oil is a commodity. The base price for the barrel is determined on the open market. Whoever pays the most for it wins the sale. That's driven by supply and demand - not by gouging. The company that develops the lease, and opens the field, puts up a tremendous amount of risk and deserves compensation for that risk. If the field is a bust they go bankrupt. If the political winds change, and their lease gets revoked for political (rather than market) driven reasons, they go bankrupt. They risk tremendously with environmental permits that are sometimes set with nonsensical standards in order for politicians to claim that they're open to drilling, only to be prevented by standards that aren't achievable. If the price of oil drops too low, it costs more to extract it than they can sell it for, and they close the field, or go bankrupt. Go visit a town that's been built on oil money. It's amazing to see how 60 or 70 or 100 years of boom and bust shapes the character of a town, because the bust always follows the boom.

Once the oil is drilled, it's transported, refined, and distributed before final sale. Along the way, a gallon of gas may be extracted by ExxonMobil, transported by ARAMCO, refined by Shell, distributed by a small company, and then finally sold at a Sheetz or a Wawa. All of those companies will take a few pennies on the movement of that product. Economically, the government (federal, state, and local) makes more off the gallon of gas than the companies doing the work. You want to blame gouging? Blame the lack of supply, brought about by governments restricting the flow of the commodity, which pushes the base price for the barrel to astronomical levels.

Regarding a tax holiday, or a tax rebate, understand that these will exacerbate the problem in the short term, and make new problems in the future. Adding cash into anyone's pockets right now as a tax rebate only increases inflationary pressures, hurting everyone. Removing taxes on fuel defunds the source of maintenance budgets for roadway infrastructure in the future. Ask small towns in the Lehigh Valley - the state provides a "liquid fuels" payment to boroughs and municipalities, paid for out of the state fuel tax, to provide road maintenance and associated road improvements.

Economics 101 dictates that you either need to increase supply (which is what many of your commenters are advocating), or decrease demand.

Anonymous said...

NO PRESIDENT or party controls the economy or gas prices and their positions and policies have a limited impact at best. Everyone celebrates their favorite President/Party and craps on the other team usually about the same thing.

In 18 months the country (while Biden is President) has added 9 millions jobs and currently has a 3.6 unemployment rate. Trump supporters waved flags celebrating 3.5% (a 50 year low) prior to COVID.

In 2022 we are scheduled to actually pay down the national debt for the first time since March 2016 - nobody's excited about reduced deficits? Or does it only count when Republicans can do it?

All of the above is true and yet we still have inflation and high gas prices. Guess what, we'd all still be in the same boat if Trump was President, because this was all unavoidable. COVID effectively poured a bag of sugar into the GLOBAL economy's gas tank in 2020. The economy is a series of dominoes and they are still falling and will continue to fall for months if not years to come. Russia/Ukraine has also contributed to spooking already shaky markets.

Blaming or crediting Biden, hoping/wishing it was Trump changes nothing and means nothing other than showing which team you're blindly cheering for.

Anonymous said...

I always used to bunch my errands together so as not to waste gas and time. Now I put off my vacation again, especially after covid made it kind of impossible. I was going to try to save some money and drive somewhere to get out of my town for a break, like back home to visit with family I haven't seen for so long because of the pandemic. Now with the gasoline prices even higher, my Sunday drive, the last thing I was holding out on; is going to be put on the shelf. Slowly and slowly, this America is eroding away. Learning to do more with less. At least Sunday walks around the block are still free. This pandemic and economy are really reeking havoc on the peoples' liberties and mental/physical health.

Anonymous said...

Maybe by now, 12:43 has sobered up. His stupid and judgmental remarks surely speak to his mindlessness.
Watch the hearings to see that your lying idol, tRump is a feckless fool.

Anonymous said...

$10/gal should be the minimum price stop destroying mother Gaea, send Tara Z to D.C for service in the Squad or suffer the consequences of environmental annihilation

BLUE BADGER

Anonymous said...

The oil companies are price gouging for record profits, there a war and it’s causing a world wide oil shortage. Even the great Bullshitter Trump couldn’t get the price of gas any lower. We need to tax the oil companies and the ultra wealthy more to pay for better infrastructure. Better train system would be a start in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

Bernie O'Hare said: "This is no solution to an IMMEDIATE problem and may not be a solution at all. The question is what can be done to reduce prices at the pump right now, not 20 years from now, if ever."


This is where you're wrong. As 11:41 noted, oil is a commodity with lots of steps involved from finding it, extracting it, and then making it usable as gasoline. Its price is dictated not just by today's conditions, but by anticipated conditions in the future.

And it's there that the democrat energy policies are directly causing the current high prices we're experiencing for gas, and while they will continue to rise under this democrat administration.

If this administration were to come out tomorrow and REVERSE their failing energy policies (and mean it and act accordingly), you'd see an immediate drop in price.

Open more areas to exploration; approve more drilling leases; cut the red tape on the bureaucracy on anything related to oil; restart the XL pipeline and other such projects; and declare that the US intends to be a net exporter once again.

Yes, those all take time to actually happen, but the signal is sent to the world market immediately that more supply is on the way. That drops the current price.

Unfortunately, current democrat energy policy does exactly the opposite and is what is currently driving up gas prices. It's why prices started rising soon after Biden's election victory - he made it very clear he was at war with oil production.

I won't hold my breath for democrat politicians to admit their mistakes and change course. While I hope a very clear message is sent this November, things won't change until the democrats are removed from the White House in 2024 as well.

Anonymous said...

All should remember the dialogue between Biden and Big Oil when Biden took office. He declared and implemented his anti-fossil fuel agenda. Big Oil replied: fine, then we have no incentive to plan and invest to support the world's oil supply and the current market price structure. This caused oil prices to rise significantly. In the category of unintended but foreseeable consequences, Putin's calculus for invading Ukraine then turned most favorable - factoring high oil prices as a necessary condition to financing the war, his low estimation of American and European resolve, his low estimation of Ukrainian resistance and his over-estimation of the Russian army's capabilities. The only thing Putin got right was assuming sustained higher oil prices which some say is exactly what Biden and the climate crazies wanted. While there is no excuse for the war criminal Putin, Biden and his climate crazies share blame for setting favorable conditions for this global catastrophe of war, food shortages and human suffering - and, not coincidentally, the "Putin price hike." Their error in judgment is virtually admitted by the belated strategy to now deprive Putin of Russian oil and gas sales. A green woke ideology is not a substitute for good governance, common sense, competence in finance and international politics and for honoring the duty to preserve, protect and defend the country.

Anonymous said...

11:53 you are one of most dumb people of all the dumb that writes into this blog. Look around what going on. on every level and issue. you must just listen to CNN. It is because of people like you we the American people are in this terrible situation.

Anonymous said...

@11:29 "Oh, using oil and coal is NOT bad. We have plenty available. Nature will be just fine. Oil and coal IS nature! "

Did you get that off of the American Petroleum Institutes website or come up with it by yourself? Of course its nature.

Did you know Uranium is also found in nature? Nature is wonderful, but you're leaving out the important part, the SCIENCE...

Much like oil and gas, its what happens to it after we convert it into energy and what to do with the leftover byproducts and after effects... That's where the "bad" problems come from and that there are few simple solutions for.

Anonymous said...

No, they’re not. You have no idea what you’re talking about and if you believe that the President has any control over oil prices, you’re literally have a child’s understanding of the economy. The wealthy in this country have succeeded to keep people like you ignorant by design.

Anonymous said...

My next door neighbors are in their mid 70’s. I was talking to the husband yesterday and he told me he and his wife were contemplating selling their home. They are on a fixed income and are barely surviving their rising monthly expenses. He was tearing up as he spoke to me but said he and his wife were running out of options.

This is todays reality for an increasing number of people. I pray for my neighbors and hope they survive the current economy without having to sell the home that they raised their children in.

Anonymous said...

All you people whining about the economy and rising costs of living should be ashamed of yourselves.

June is Gay Pride month.

Celebrate and focus on what’s important!

Anonymous said...

Well for starters accept the high cost as the price of democracy--unless you want to give putin more money for his war.
Reduce your oil use (remember that your purchase supports Bonesaw Saudis and Venezuela as well) and keep it down to punish those folks
The other option is restrict futures traders to those that can accept the product.
Not wall street types looking to score some quick cash.
Or try to suckle some cash yourself by getting into oil futures.

Anonymous said...

@12:28

Definitely wrong about the current energy policies, and drill baby drill is not going to work of the global environmental issues.

So LETS WATCH THE JANUARY 6th HEARINGS ON CNN At 7pm. Hopefully, this will open our eyes to the truthfulness of our Democracy. Let’s view it with an open mind.

Anonymous said...

Sure we could cave to oil companies and let them double down on oil investments. That would drive down oil prices in the long term, also with the nice benefit of prolonging our disastrous dependency on fossil fuels.

Or the oil companies could work with humanity and take a hit on their profits to ease us away from fossil fuels rather than gouging common folks until they can’t pay anymore.

Anonymous said...

This weekend I spent $15 for a cheeseburger and potato chips and $7 for a pint of domestic beer.

After the $6 tip I was out $28 for a burger and a beer.

On the way home I filled my car with gas. Cost me $87.

I don’t even consider myself political, but I’ll be in line early to vote in November.

Anonymous said...

2:26 yet, I still see comments blaming Trump. Give it a rest. Talk about child’s play. Biden is responsible for some of this inflation. Good grief

Anonymous said...

Exactly what are you smoking??? Best unemployment rates?? Stop watching CNN

Anonymous said...

11:53…you calling out 12:43 (whomever that is) telling him to sober up and then bringing Trump in the conversation just shows how idiotic you truly sound. Bravo..most stupid comment on this thread 🙄

Anonymous said...

The quickest way to solve this is to hold prime time televised hearings on something else that nobody cares about and won't help the poor buy gas or women feed their infants. This is absolutely the correct strategy to cut gas prices. Stay the course.

Anonymous said...

Apparently many of the commenters on this site and even you Bernie have no idea about the knowledge I have about PA resources and who is in charge of what. Guess you can’t tell that in an Anonymous post but just putting it out there that I am not a “child” or without knowledge of how to fix this problem using PA resources.

Anonymous said...

What does that have to do with this topic??

Anonymous said...

Gotta love these comments lol

Anonymous said...

I find myself again agreeing with Bernie. It's the old... Look here not there with tonight's show. As for gas..give everyone a break. Don't do more to divide this country based on income. We all feel the impact

Anonymous said...

Start taxing the rich like it was 1950, then we will have a surplus like we had when Clinton was President. BTW - wait 10 years from now when the middle class will be the poorest elderly living people this country has ever seen. There will be your parents living on the street losing their houses to pay for medical care. No defined pension plans, no social medical benefits for health, enjoy this is the America 🇺🇸 you voted for.

Anonymous said...

Nobody talks about the loss of refining capacity. The huge refinery in Philly was closed due to a fire. It will now stay closed due to “environmental justice” whatever the eff that is. California converted 2 big refineries to bio fuel during the shutdown. In Texa they have on down due to a fire. Some have converted to making diesel to make a larger profit.

Bernie O'Hare said...

If your comment fails to address the topic, do not expect to see it published.

Anonymous said...

We should hold primetime hearings and get to the bottom of these prices, immediately. Nothing is more important. Prime time hearings should be held to investigate every possible solution. Nothing should be addressed until this issue and baby formula shortages are addressed. Prime time hearings are an immediate solution to turn up the heat on all involved.

Anonymous said...

We don’t need prime time hearings to understand that worldwide oil barrel prices are NOT controlled by our the US, let alone our president.

We don’t need to have prime time hearings to understand that because of capitalism, baby formula is monopolized by FOUR companies in this country and if one of them shuts down completely because of contamination, that there will be less formula produced, thus a shortage.

But because you probably have a child’s understanding of how the economy works, I can see why you’ll need a hearing about brushing your teeth.

Move along, trilobite…

Anonymous said...

Remember what Obama said and make sure your tire pressure is correct LOL LOL LOL.........

Anonymous said...

@6:38 well enlighten us self anointed know it all and to prove you really know something feel free to add you name to the post so we can then validate if you have a clue or are just spouting horse manure like so many of us anticipate.

Anonymous said...

Gas prices Biden caused it will not solve worse president in history of the United States.

Anonymous said...

@9:48 it would be nice if you were able to get beyond you own pathetic existence. You seem to be the same person who just spews vial excrement over and over again. Say your piece once then shut up and permanently go away.

Anonymous said...

Americans are the fattest country in the world. I say just shut off all gasoline and diesel for 6 months. Then well will see what happens.