Biden must decide whether high gas prices are good or bad

Leave a Comment / Politics / By windsurfingchile

Joe Biden continues to say the quiet part out loud. As gas prices continue to rise, he suggests that perhaps… high prices are a feature, not a bug: “We have a chance to make a fundamental turn towards renewable energy, electric vehicles and across the board”, he said monday†

This was not a one-off blunder. Last month the president said:†[W]when it comes to gas prices, we are going through an incredible transition that is taking place and, God willing, when it is over we will be stronger and the world will be stronger and less dependent on fossil fuels when this is over.”

On the one hand, we are told that Biden is “Obsessed with the fact that gas prices are so high and people are in pain,” as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm put it. On the other hand, the president continues to suggest that high gas prices are a necessary ingredient for his… transformational presidency† You don’t have to be conspiracy theorist until take him at his word†

And yet this very concept is political death. I mean, rising gas prices are so politically toxic that Ron Klain, Biden’s top strategist, is reportedly fixated on gas stations posting their prices on big boards. “Can they advertise something else?” Klain “rhetorically and remorsefully” said: according to Politico†

Ron Klain, Biden’s top strategist, is reportedly fixated on gas stations posting their prices on big boards.

Brandon Bell/Getty

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Perhaps Klain should be concerned about his candidate’s words instead of complaining about the gas station signage. Even if you believe that one day we will all (and should!)Biden’s plan calls that half of all new cars sold in America will be electric by 2030), and even if you’re against increasing oil production for environmental reasons, consider how out-of-touch Biden sounds right now.

The cheapest Tesla on the market sells for $46,990 (in some places this may be reduced by virtue of rebates or tax credits). And the price of electric car charging is up too. Telling a Working Mom Who Can’t Pay to Fill Her Tank Right Now the benefits of an electric car is like telling someone who lives in a shack that he is investing in solar panels. It makes liberals sound like elitists, bordering on let them eat cake territory.

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We could talk all day about the “long-term savings” that come with owning an electric vehicle (they practically pay for themselves!), but that won’t mean much to the person who raids their kids’ piggy bank for gas money to make. working. The eventual move to electric cars will not comfort working Americans who are struggling Today† And the problem for Joe Biden is that he is president now, not in 2030.

The most flattering way to say this would be to say that we have a visionary president who is focused on long-term solutions, while many Americans are struggling right now. But by mr. Brightside makes Biden suspect he cares more about social engineering than the little guy.

When weighing up trade-offs, it is of course also worth asking yourself how much better for the environment electric cars really are. Again, there are enough caveats to make Biden’s message less than clear.

The cheapest Tesla on the market sells for $46,990.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

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While experts agree that electric cars are generally (and increasingly) more environmentally friendly than gas-powered cars, the key question is: how the electricity is generated.

If the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources or nuclear energy, this is obviously preferable to the combustion engine. But as Jeremy Michalek, a professor of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, told The New York Times† “If you have electric cars in Pittsburgh that plug in overnight and cause nearby coal plants to burn more coal to charge them, then the climate benefits won’t be as great and you could actually get more air pollution. †

And that’s not the only caveat. as the Time also notes that “the lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — such as cobalt, lithium and rare earths — which have been linked to serious environmental and human rights issues.”

Biden not taking his presidency seriously

The point is not to diminish the usefulness of electric vehicles, but to emphasize that their current environmental benefit is not as clear-cut as some may think. And more to the point, to the average American, Biden sounds tin-eared.

To be fair, the Biden administration wants the idea that there is a “silver liningcan be found in high gas prices, but all you need to do is listen to the from the president own words. He continues to suggest that this, yes, may be a difficult time, but it will lead us to the promised land of cars that run on hope, change and… unicorn farts† At least, that’s how it must sound to many skeptical and frustrated Americans.

Think of this as just the latest stumbling block to a White House that increasingly resembles the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

I suspect Biden’s confused stance on gas prices is a microcosm of a presidency that doesn’t know what it wants to be when it gets big. On the one hand, Biden wants to be a transformational progressive. On the other hand, Biden wants to be Joey from Scranton– a centrist who connects with average Americans.

Perhaps a younger, more accomplished president can find a way to be both. Instead, Joe Biden looks like a tired president who is already running out of gas.

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